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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25503943">It's Not a Secret</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clapclapwatchyourback/pseuds/clapclapwatchyourback'>clapclapwatchyourback</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Coming Out, Dating, Fluff, Getting Together, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Makeouts, Swearing, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings, i promise this is better than it sounds, its not a secret tho, just lowkey, no one knows theyre gay, oh man im bad at tagging too</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:47:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,560</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25503943</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clapclapwatchyourback/pseuds/clapclapwatchyourback</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kei and Tadashi have liked each other for a very long time; long before either of them actually started dating. </p><p>"Tsukishima stepped out of the house and had to stop himself from laughing out loud. His lips couldn’t help but turn up into a smile and, but at the same time he cursed himself for leaving. Tadashi was just looking at him in a way he never seen before, and he couldn’t figure out what to say and it was all too much too fast for his heart to handle. But he was still so incredibly, undeniably happy that he felt like he would burst. He had to stay calm, though, he’s always calm. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, because he still had to figure out what the hell to say to him tomorrow."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Yachi Hitoka &amp; Yamaguchi Tadashi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>280</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hi! this is my first fic so i hope you enjoy it!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Yamaguchi Tadashi figured out he liked boys at age eleven. How, you ask? It was the little things. It was the way his stomach fluttered when he made Tsukki laugh. It was the way he felt like beaming when they bumped shoulders while walking home. It was the way he had felt nothing when a girl in class admitted she had a crush on him earlier that day.<br/>     Tadashi stared at his ceiling, brow furrowed as he actively ignored time creeping later and later on his clock. Sleep was inconsequential compared to what he had on his mind right now. Did he really like Kei? He thought about that girl, her smile and her face. He frowned. He was getting nothing. He then thought about his last sleepover with Tsukki, who had shown him a new encyclopedia solely about dinosaurs. Tadashi thought about his friend’s slight flush, and the way enthusiasm bled into his usually monotonous tone. He couldn’t help but smile too, as he scrunched up into a fetal position and rolled onto his side. The alarm clock on his nightstand glared at him, warned him that it was getting late, and he was already a heavy sleeper. Yamaguchi closed his eyes in submission, but his mind was still racing.<br/>     Ok. He definitely liked Kei. Weird. He scrunched his nose up at the thought of liking a boy, but his face quickly softened when images of his best friend flashed before his eyelids. Maybe this wasn’t so bad. He could handle it.</p><hr/><p>     They were twelve when they had a sleepover that changed their dynamic, if even microscopically. Yamaguchi was twirling in Tsukishima’s desk chair, and the latter laid flat on his bed, head hanging a bit off the edge to better look at his friend. Tadashi spun a volleyball in his hands, as he boredly looked around the room, even though he had seen it a million times before. Little had changed since primary: dinosaur figurines still posed on the shelves, and the layout hadn’t once been disturbed. Even the bedsheets were the same (though washed, of course).<br/>     “It’s annoying.” Tsukishima spat suddenly. Tadashi paused, thinking maybe it was him that was being bothersome.<br/>     “What is, Kei?” They had called each other by their given names since they met, but Tsukishima thought it was embarrassing to do it in public. Yamaguchi had insisted that he would still use a nickname, and Kei hadn’t the faintest why he was so adamant about it. But it was kind of nice, sometimes.<br/>     “Everyone is asking everyone out.” He complained, “Now there’s so much drama and gossip about who likes who, more than ever. It really annoys me.”<br/>     “Oh!” Tadashi laughed, “That’s a little out of the blue. Do you like someone, then?”<br/>     “No! Shut up, Yamaguchi, I just said it was annoying! Why would I like someone?”<br/>     “Why wouldn’t you?” Yamaguchi shrugged. Tsukishima narrowed his eyes.<br/>     “Do you?” He was a little taken aback. He had never considered that maybe Tadashi would also want to partake in such trivialities.<br/>     “N-no!” Yamaguchi said, “It’s just… I don’t know, everyone else has liked someone. Why haven’t you?” Tsukishima huffed in response. “You are right, though,” he added with a grin “It is super annoying.” Tsukishima gave a small smile at that, and sat up.</p><p>     “Promise me something, Tadashi.”<br/>     “Sure,”<br/>     “Promise me that you’ll never become girl crazy like the rest of them. I’d hate for you to get boring too.” Tadashi paused, taking in what his best friend had just said to him.<br/>     “Ok, Tsukki,” he giggled, “I promise!”<br/>     “Alright, you idiot, don’t look at me like that.” Tsukishima snapped without much malice, as he got up and turned around Yamaguchi’s chair to face the computer, “What movie do you want to watch tonight?”<br/>     And from that moment on, things were different. Tadashi knew that it was a weird thing to ask. That Kei had just asked him not to get a girlfriend, and that wasn’t really a ‘bro’ thing to do. But he had made a promise, and he intended on keeping it. It was the easiest promise he had ever made.</p><hr/><p>      He hadn’t meant to say it. It just kind of slipped out on accident, but Yamaguchi meant it all the same. There was nothing particularly off about the day. He and Tsukki were walking home together as per usual, but they were laughing a lot harder. It was the kind of conversation that would sound nearly incoherent to anyone else, but to them each thing they added made it more and more hilarious. Looking back, he could barely remember what they were making fun of. He remembered the way that the late afternoon light made Tsukishima’s hair glow, and how nice Tsukishima looked with a genuine smile on his face. He also remembered how his cheeks hurt from grinning, how red his face must’ve been flushed, and how his whole body felt like it was floating from glee.<br/>     “That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” Kei snorted. Yamaguchi shook his head.<br/>     “I love you.” It was said with a smile and almost a sigh. Tadashi wasn’t thinking about what he was saying. He was focused on the way his chest felt warm and the feeling one gets in one’s stomach after laughing too hard for too long. Tsukishima looked up, startled,<br/>     “What was that?” he demanded, his smile gone.<br/>     “I love you, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi shrugged.<br/>     “Shut up, Yamaguchi!” Tsukishima said, looking away to hide his face, which he was sure was flushed.<br/>    “What?” Tadashi elbowed him, “You’re my best friend! I can’t love my friends?”<br/>    “Oh. Well. Whatever, I guess.”<br/>     Yamaguchi furrowed his brow. Tsukishima looked strange and serious. He was staring at the ground and biting his lip, his eyes conveying either too little or too much emotion. Tadashi usually prided himself on his ability to read his friend, but now he himself was confused. Tsukki didn’t seem angry, though he was stiff. He didn’t look upset at all, really. If he had to guess, Tadashi would say he was sad. It was strange seeing his friend, who was always so sure of himself, seemingly shaken.<br/>     “Sorry.” he said, unsure of what else to do. He really hadn’t meant to tell him. Tadashi was just overcome with love for his friend in the moment.<br/>     “Um, no, don’t-” Tsukishima took a breath, “Uh, it’s fine.”<br/>     He looked at Yamaguchi to reassure him. He didn’t smile- that wasn’t him, he didn’t smile when he didn’t feel like it, not around Yamaguchi, at least. But his eyes weren't mad, and his face relaxed. He nodded and Tadashi smiled. He was well aware that Tsukishima was not good with his words when it came to anything involving what might be emotion. He was also aware that, though he knew he was Kei’s only friend, he still might not like Tadashi as much as Tadashi liked him. It was a very real possibility that he only put up with him because he was the only one too stubborn and willing to put up with Tsukki’s attitude. But that was ok with that, because no matter how Tsukishima actually felt about him, he was still by his side. They still walked home together and laughed together. It was fine.<br/>     Everything was fine.</p><hr/><p>     This was definitely not fine. Tsukishima Kei had had crushes before. Fleeting ideas of who was cute and whatnot. But this one felt different. His feelings for Yamaguchi had snuck up on him, and hit him like the bullet train. Nothing in his thirteen years of life had ever felt like this; this was exhausting. Every free second of every day, he was barraged by freckles, and a smile like sunshine, and “Nice one, Tsukki!”’s. He had to keep his cool and not grin like an idiot when Yamaguchi took an earbud out of his east without asking and stuck it in his own. He had to force down a blush whenever Tadashi praised him, which was constantly. Kei found himself saying “Shut up” to his friend a whole lot more since this revelation. If that wasn’t enough, when he got home and was finally away from that blasted boy, he still saw Tadashi whenever he closed his eyes, or whenever he let his mind drift for even a moment. The absolute worst part about this whole thing is that Tsukishima never wanted it to stop. He liked the way his heart beat harder when he texted Yamaguchi. How even when he was alone he would catch himself blushing at something he had said earlier, or at the way that Tadashi looked at him like he was the whole world.<br/>     And today? Today Yamaguchi said he loved him. Rationally, Tsukishima knew that it was because they were close friends. No doubt, he loved Tadashi back in that way. But his heart had other things in mind; it beat irregularly and he blushed like a girl. He was being so stupid! ‘What was that’? Really, Kei? That was your response? Aren’t you supposed to be smart? That being said, he smiled when he thought about it again. Even drowning in his own stupidity, he liked the way just thinking about Tadashi made him feel.<br/>     The issue with all of this was that Kei didn’t think that Tadashi swung his way, and even if he did, Kei knew that he wasn’t really a likable person. Not what you would call “boyfriend material”, at least. He sighed and closed his eyes, and let the music from his headphones drown out the tension in his chest and the worries in his mind. A resolution would come at some point, he assured himself.</p><hr/><p>     “Kei…I’ve got something to tell you.” Yamaguchi started nervously. Tsukishima looks up from his desk and spins around in his desk chair.<br/>     “What, is it the English again? I thought you said you said you could handle that.” he sighed. Yamaguchi was laying on his bed pencil in hand. He was twiddling it between his fingers. Kei rolled his eyes, but he sat up to go help his friend.<br/>     “Um, no it’s not that- uh, well actually, maybe later if you can help that’d be great, there’s this conjugation that’s really messing me up-”<br/>     “Tadashi,” Tsukishima interjected, “Stop babbling. What were you going to say?” Yamaguchi twisted his hands and looked at the ground, mumbling an apology.<br/>     “I… well, I’m- uh,” he swallowed, “I think I’m going to throw up.” Tadashi said, leaning over.<br/>     “Ah! Do not throw up in my room.” Kei jumped off his bed, grabbed Yamaguchi’s arm and pulled him to the bathroom across the hall. He pushed him towards the toilet and kept a hand on his back as Yamaguchi sank to his  knees. His hands were curled on the ground, shoulders shaking as he took deep breaths.<br/>     “Hey, calm down.” Kei said, “Are you okay?” asked when his breathing seemed to be under control. Yamaguchi sat back and smiled awkwardly, and Tsukishima retracted his hand to crouch to look him in the eye.<br/>     “Sorry, this is so dumb.” Tadashi whimpered, putting his head in his hands, “God, I’m so nervous, and I don’t even know why.”<br/>     “Spit it out, you’re acting really weird!” Kei demanded. Tadashi smiled when he heard the concern in his friend’s voice. It was a rare occasion when Tsukishima Kei lost his cool.<br/>     “It’s fine, I’m fine,” he assured, “I just need to tell you something that you may not like.”<br/>     “Fucking tell me then! Since when are you this dramatic, Tadashi, goddamn.” Tsukishima said, obviously getting fed up with being kept in the dark.<br/>     “I like boys!” Yamaguchi blurted before he could overthink things again. “Well, I like girls too,” he added after a pause, “I like boys and girls. I’m bi.”<br/>     “Yes, that’s generally what bi means.” Tsukishima sighed sarcastically. He looked at Tadashi for a long while, processing. He was having a hard time getting past the flood of relief. This asshole had him really worried! Once he absorbed the fact that Tadashi was actually okay, his heart began to pump in double time. His conscious mind aggressively attempted to beat back the thoughts of oh my God, I have a chance, with more rational thoughts like that doesn’t mean he likes you, Kei, and that is so not important right now.<br/>     “Um… are you mad?” Yamaguchi quavered.<br/>That snapped Tsukishima out of it.<br/>     “What?” he said, confused, “Why would I be mad.”<br/>     “Well, you haven’t really said anything. I’m sorry-”<br/>     “Hey!” Kei interrupted, “Don’t apologize,” he asserted, “You don’t need to apologize for this, and anyone that makes you think you do is not worth your time.” He gripped his best friend’s shoulder and thought a few seconds,    “Did you really think I’d be angry?”<br/>     “No!’ Yamaguchi said, averting his eyes, his heart breaking at how hurt Kei sounded, “I don’t know! We’ve never talked about it. I just wasn’t sure. I-” he cut himself off before he could say sorry again. Tears began to roll down his cheeks, so he sniffed and hurriedly wiped them away. Not knowing what else to do, Yamaguchi lurched forward, wrapping his arms around Kei’s chest, burying his face into his shoulder. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.” Tsukishima hesitantly put his hands on his friend’s back. He didn’t know what to say or do but he could feel the wetness of Yamaguchi’s tears on his shoulder through his t-shirt.<br/>     “I… I’m not upset, alright? It’s okay. You’re okay, Tadashi, it’s fine.” he tried. The comforts sounded clunky, cold, and awkward to Kei, and he cursed himself for not knowing how to help. Yamaguchi just squeezed his arms around Kei tighter, and said nothing. Tsukishima didn’t know how long they were kneeling on that tiled floor, but it was long enough for his shirt to dry and his knees to ache. When Yamaguchi’s arms relaxed, Kei pushed him away from him. He grabbed Tadashi’s hand and stood, pulling him up after him.“Okay.” Tsukishima said, “That’s enough. There’s no point just sitting here feeling bad about nothing.” Yamaguchi looked up at him; his eyes were dry, but they were red, and his expression was confused. “Well there’s no way we’re getting your English work done from in here.”<br/>     “Thank you, Tsukki.” Tadashi grinned, making his way back to Tsukishima’s room. Kei rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, but followed him.<br/>     “What for?” he muttered, “I didn’t do anything.”<br/>     “Because that means that you’re going to help me with English.” Kei smirked.<br/>     “I am fairly certain I did not say that.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kei struggles with his feelings and lashes out. Tadashi is not a fan of this behavior.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     When the beginning of their third year of middle school rolled around, Tadashi began to notice something strange. It was only a little at first, but in the months after he came out, Tsukishima had been acting strange. Like, weirdly hostile. Tadashi was aware that Tsukishima isn’t exactly a warm-and-fuzzy type of person, but he was never this malicious. Earlier that day, for example, Tadashi was talking to one of his friends from the volleyball team, Akagi Shinko, when Kei started to behave, for lack of a better word, like a bitch. He started the conversation, speaking over Shinko, charming as ever.<br/>     “Yamaguchi, let's go.” he said. To any other person he would look cool as ever, but Tadashi saw irritation flicker across his face.<br/>     “Just a second, Tsukki.” he shot back over his shoulder, apologizing to Shinko for his friend's rudeness.<br/>     “Now, Yamaguchi.” Kei said impatiently. “He’s probably just talking about something lame anyway.”<br/>     “Shut up, Tsukishima.” Shinko shot back.<br/>     “Oh, I should shut up? Maybe if you shut your mouth a little more and actually practiced you would be on the starting line up.”<br/>     “Like you practice.” Shinko scoffed.<br/>     “Like I need to.” Tsukishima smirked. “Now come on.” Yamaguchi looked conflicted. He didn’t want to leave yet, and Kei was kind of being a dick, but he was still his best friend.<br/>     “This guy’s a nobody, Yamaguchi. He’s always going to be. Don’t waste your time.”<br/>Shinko’s eyes flashed with pain, but he managed to roll his eyes and walk out, shooting a glare at Yamaguchi too as he left.<br/>     “You’re a dickhead.” he muttered on the way out.<br/>     “Really? Why, thank you, I try.” he called after him, pushing up his glasses.Yamaguchi huffed a breath and shouldered his bag.<br/>     “Let’s go, Tsukki.” he seethed, storming past him. Kei followed, apparently cocky about his recent victory. Tadashi had other opinions. When the road split between their houses, he began to head home without a word.<br/>     “Yamaguchi.” he tried, but his friend kept on walking. “Yamaguchi, hey!” He took a few steps after him. “You were coming over, remember?”<br/>     “Not anymore.”<br/>     “What?” Tsukishima said, jogging to catch up. “Why are you being like this, let's go.”<br/>     “Why are you being like this, Kei?” Tadashi sighed, stopping to look Kei in the eye.<br/>     “Yamaguchi-” Tsukishima tried to interject, thrown by the use of his given name in such a public setting. There were people walking by still, coming home from work, and the looks they were receiving only agitated him more.<br/>     “It’s not like you’ve ever been the nicest person, but lately you’ve just been a- you’ve been really mean.”<br/>     “You- you’ve never thought I was an ass before.”<br/>     “I’ve always thought you were an ass, I just didn’t care, but you went too far this time.” Yamaguchi averted his eyes to the ground, but his voice was still firm.<br/>     “So what, you’d rather hang out with someone else? With Akagi?”<br/>     “I don’t know, maybe! You’re my best friend, Tsukki, but I’m allowed to talk to other people. It seems like every time I do, you try to drag me away!”<br/>     “Okay, then.” Tsukishima said, hurt lacing his words. “Whatever. We don’t have to hang out today.” He pulls his headphones over his ears, his long legs carrying him at a surprisingly swift speed. He heard Yamaguchi say something from behind him, but couldn’t make it out over the blaring music.<br/>      That night Kei couldn’t help but cringe over his actions. The anger he had felt earlier was gone leaving him feeling unbearably awkward and with a cold pit of guilt in his stomach. How could he be so ridiculous? He didn’t know what came over him in that moment, but it was something red and hot that tore away the self control he usually held. He felt stupid, and it made him even more angry. If this was how he can’t help but act, he told himself, it was far better to avoid these situations altogether. But avoid what, exactly? Akagi Shinko? Insulting people? No, that’s impossible. Tadashi? His chest hurt at the thought, but although difficult, it was doable. Kei’s phone buzzed against his nightstand, the screen casting across the ceiling. He leaned over, squinting at the words, a message from Tadashi; “I’m going to school early tomorrow you don’t have to meet me”. He sighed. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard.<br/>      For a while this plan seemed to work. On the first day, Yamaguchi seemed to be on board with the idea. It was strange, to see each other in the halls but not walk together, or even greet one another. Tadashi had other friends so his lunches weren’t boring, but Kei ate at his desk, observing how a couple of his classmates noticed the absence of his companion. He didn’t particularly care about what they whispered to each other, but it did make him reflect on his own loneliness. Tsukishima didn’t need anyone to function, he didn’t need to be around people. He found most others draining. At least that's what he always thought. He realized then how he never really counted Tadashi in the ‘other people’ category. He believed he actually preferred to be alone, except for Tadashi. He never minded his friends' presence. Maybe him always being by Kei’s side was why he never wanted to hang out with those other people.<br/>     Epiphanies aside, Tsukishima was proud of himself for not missing Yamaguchi at all for the whole day. Well maybe there were a few times he noticed that when he muttered something funny but there was no one next to him to laugh with him. When he turned to the space beside him to share a judging look, it was empty. When he walked home that day, it was nice listening to the music the whole way without minding what Tadashi ws saying, though there was still a weird feeling in his chest that he couldn’t place.<br/>     The next morning he left early. He wasn't going to meet Tadashi at the corner so they could walk together, but he didn’t want to risk running into him anyway. Despite his best efforts, the day was a whole lot more combative. He luckily dodged Tadashi for wahil(being best friends since elementary school and knowing his schedule made that simple enough), but he had more trouble at lunch when Tadashi joined him for lunch as he usually did, incidents apparently forgotten and forgiven.<br/>     “Hey, Tsukki! Where were you this morning?” he asked, plopping down next to him. He was smiling.<br/>     “I have to go to the bathroom.” Tsukishima said suddenly after a few seconds of silence, standing and rushing out. He didn’t come back until lunchtime was over and he was sure that Yamaguchi had gone back to class. Not cool, he knew, but what else was he supposed to do? Tell his best friend, his only friend, to his face that he couldn’t even look at him anymore because he- because he gets irrational around him? This backfired on poor Kei, because Tadashi merely doubled his efforts to hang out with him. When he said hi to Tsukishima in the hall, he walked in the other direction, ignoring him. When he asked to do something after practice, he made some excuse about being busy. Yamaguchi walked home next to him despite his best friend keeping his headphones on, keeping himself two steps ahead, keeping his headphones on to make it clear that talking wasn’t going to happen.<br/>He only tolerated for four days. He nearly had to jog to keep up with Tsukishima on his way home that night.<br/>     “Hey,” he said, pushing on Kei’s arm. “Come over today.” There was no response, so he spoke louder, “I’m pretty sure you can hear me!” He huffed when he was still ignored. Yamaguchi, as a last resort, yanked them down himself.<br/>     “Hey!” Tsukishima objected.<br/>     “Come over today.”<br/>     “I’m busy, I can’t.”<br/>     “No you aren’t, and we both know it.”<br/>     “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were familiar with the intimate details of my daily schedule.” Tsukishima quipped. The resistance annoyed Tadashi, of course, but his lips quirked upwards because he was just so happy to hear his friend’s sarcasm again, even if it was directed at him.<br/>     “I am, actually, and tonight is clear!” He saw amusement glint in Kei’s eyes.<br/>     “Stalker.”<br/>     “Come on! I’m sick of this! Tell me what I did and I’ll apologize, but miss hanging out with you, Tsukki.”<br/>     “You didn’t do anything, you don’t have to apologize.”<br/>     “Perfect! Then come over. Just for a little bit.” Yamaguchi tried again.<br/>     “No.” He walked faster.<br/>     “TSUKISHIMA KEIIIIIII…!” Tadashi began to yell after him. “COME OVER TO MY HOUSE, OR I’LL ACTUALLY BE A STALKER AND FOLLOW YOU HOOOOOOOME!”<br/>     “Shut up!” Tsukishima scolded, whipping around, “You sound insane!”<br/>     “IF ONLY THERE WAS SOME WAY TO SHUT ME UP.” he boomed, his smile smug, but not quite reaching his eyes. Kei took a step forward.<br/>     “Seriously! Go away!” His word bit, but Yamaguchi could see how he didn’t mean all of it. He didn’t completely avoid looking at him, but his eyes never lingered on one spot for long. His hands were clenched tight on either side of him. Yamaguchi let out a sigh, letting go of the fight left in his body.<br/>     “Tsukki, it’s alright if you don’t want to keep hanging out with me. I-” his voice wobbled, “I always figured you never really liked me as much as I liked you. If you really want me to leave you alone, I can accept that, but at least tell me to my face.”<br/>     Tsukishima is sure he felt his heart break into two then. This was all completely wrong. He felt his fingernails dig into his palms.<br/>     “No, that’s not it!”<br/>     “QUIET DOWN OUT THERE!” They heard a voice thunder from one of the houses.<br/>     “I’ll come over.” Kei says, biting on his lip. “For a little bit.” Had he really been yelling? He does his best to not notice how Tadashi wiped unshed tears from his eyes.<br/>     They didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the way, not until after Kei greeted Tadashi’s parents and they were in his room. It was awkward, the silence they settled into, and it was weird to feel so strange in Tadashi’s bedroom with him, a space he had been in plenty of times before. Tsukishima sat rigidly on the bed until Yamaguchi made his way across the room and settled next to him, leaving plenty more space than he normally would.<br/>     “So you don’t want to stop being friends with me?” he started, tentatively.<br/>     “No, I don’t.” Kei sighed, grateful for the break of tension, however difficult to topic. “I don’t know how to explain it, I-” he paused, looking for the right words, something he rarely ever had to do. “I didn’t ever want to leave you alone, but I had to.”<br/>     “You had to? Why?” Tadashi was concerned about his friend. He wasn’t acting like himself. Kei began to fidget with his fingers, his gaze not leaving the carpet.<br/>     “When I was- when I am around you, I just- I don’t know, I can’t think straight, and I say dumb things. I’m so awkward, and it's just totally uncool.” Tsukishima said so quickly that it took Tadashi a moment to process it.<br/>     “...Oh.” Tadashi said, blushing a little, his head snapping to look at the floor too. “Um, well, don’t avoid me again, please. I really care about you too, Kei. You… you’re my best friend.” He flinches as Tsukishima barks out a cold laugh, putting his head in his hands. He turns to look Tadashi in the eyes.<br/>     “You idiot, that’s the problem. I care about you… differently than that..”<br/>     “Oh!” he breathed, eyes widened with shock and face flushing a bright red. “Well, I, uh, in that case-” he felt as if the oxygen had been sucked out of his lungs. He regretted sitting so far away from Kei, whose eyes hadn’t left his face. “Um. Me too.” A smile formed on his lips<br/>     “You too?”<br/>     “Yes.”<br/>     “Well, uh, that’s good, then.” Kei tried, but his words sounded clunky even to him. “I have to go.” He added, glancing at the clock and standing.<br/>     “Wait!” Tadashi yelped, stepping in front of him as he shouldered his bag. Kei grabbed his hand with both of his own, his own face getting redder by the second. He felt like he was about to explode and his stomach was fluttering so rapidly that it almost hurt.<br/>     “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay? We can walk together.”<br/>     “O-okay.” Yamaguchi said, disappointed, but his hand felt like it was on fire with Kei’s hands around it and his heart was beating so fast he could hardly argue.<br/>     Tsukishima stepped out of the house and had to stop himself from laughing out loud. His lips couldn’t help but turn up into a smile and, but at the same time he cursed himself for leaving. Tadashi was just looking at him in a way he never seen before, and he couldn’t figure out what to say and it was all too much too fast for his heart to handle. But he was still so incredibly, undeniably happy that he felt like he would burst. He had to stay calm, though, he’s always calm. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, because he still had to figure out what the hell to say to him tomorrow.<br/>******<br/>     The walk to school the next morning was unsurprisingly quiet. Neither of them really knew how to start out.<br/>     “Do you want to go to the arcade later today?” Kei said suddenly, looking over at the boy next to him.<br/>     “The arcade?”<br/>     “Yeah, we could go get dinner or something too… if you want.” Tadashi grinned.<br/>     “So, like a date? You’re asking me out on a date?” he clarified.<br/>     “Yes.”<br/>     “So are we, like, boyfriends now or . . ?”<br/>     “If you want to be.” Tsukishima answered softly as Yamaguchi chuckled and bumped their shoulders together.<br/>     “Of course I want to.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hey! this chapter is very weak in my opinion and I really kind hate it, but it took far too long to write because I struggled so much, so I'm uploading anyway. It's like,, all dialogue, which is a habit I thought I got over in freshmen year, but apparently not. I hope you enjoyed it, and there should be a new one soon because theres only a few more scenes I have to finish, but I'm at around 13,000 words currently! I like where the rest of it's at a lot better than this. anyways, any feedback is welcome.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kei and Tadashi go on several dates and work out some kinks in their new relationship.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Tsukishima took a deep breath before rapping on the door. It opened almost immediately and he was greeted with Yamaguchi’s smile.<br/>
     “Hey,” he said, a little breathless, “One second, let me put on my shoes.”<br/>
     Kei nodded as they made their way off of the property, silent. He hated that it was so weird between them when the only thing that had really changed was their titles. He picked at the seam on the inside of his pockets and squinted up at the sun. It was a nice Saturday afternoon, not too hot despite how spring was steadily fading into summer. He glanced at Tadashi who was looking at the ground by his side, a light smile still on his face. He looked up and their eyes met, which made both of them avert their eyes. The ridiculousness of it all made them both chuckle. When their eyes met again, the tension was dispelled. But they were still quiet.<br/>
     “Do you want to hold my hand? You can, if you want.” Tsukishima asked, done with the awkwardness.<br/>
     “Uh, sure.” Tadashi said, taking his hand. He mentally cursed himself for not wiping it on his pant leg. His hands seemed to be perpetually clammy, especially today with the heat and his anxiety going haywire. Kei’s hand was dry (but not too dry), and warm, and it squeezed Tadashi’s for a moment before relaxing again. It helped him to calm down, if even just a little, the both of them feeling much more comfortable than before.<br/>
     “Ooh!” Yamagcuhi exclaimed.<br/>
     He released Tsukishima and ran forward, slowing down when he reached a potted plant on the side of the street. He carefully stepped around to the other side, lowering himself and reaching out his hand, making clicking noises with his tongue. A white and frankly obese cat with a drooping, wizened face leaned his head forward, suspiciously sniffing Tadashi’s fingers. Apparently deeming him worthy he dropped his head, pushing it towards the hand, imploring him to scratch his ears. He happily obliged, making sure to get under the chin too. Sneakily, Tadashi pulled his phone from his back pocket and snapped a few pictures. Unfortunately, by the time Kei caught up, his long shadow spooked the cat and it ran back, squeezing behind the house. He snorted at how it fled at his presence. Yamaguchi stood up, brushing his hands off on his pants this time before grabbing Tsukishima’s hand again. It took him by surprise, but it was… nice.<br/>
     “Did you see it’s face?” Tadashi asked, “it looked like my dad.” He held up his phone so they could both look at the photos. In the first one the cat really did look like Tadashi’s dad. It had sagging cheeks and serious eyes and wrinkles, but its mouth held something almost like a sly smile. He flicked through the photos. The last one showed the cat, very blurred, and twisting to run away, it’s wide eyes being the clearest thing in the photo, making them both crack up.<br/>
     They’d been to the arcade a few times before, so they knew the layout well enough to make a beeline straight for the Mario Kart games after they traded in their money for tokens. The racing games were some of their favorites, and it made Tsukishima unnaturally competitive. Probably because Tadashi was better at it.<br/>
     “You can’t be serious.” he said, zooming through the finish line in second place.<br/>
     “We still have one more race, maybe you can actually win that time.” Tadashi teased.<br/>
     “Ha-ha.”<br/>
     As much as he tried to convince himself that he didn’t really care about who won the round, he gripped the wheel harder. Tadashi noticed and smiled. He always found it rather fun when Kei’s composure cracked and he let himself get into things. During the homestretch of the round, Tsukishima did everything right; he remembered every shortcut, aimed every shell perfectly, and the finish line was in sight. He was just aiming a greenshell at Tadashi, who was right in front of him, when the absolute asshole threw a bomb back at him.<br/>
     “No, no, no!” he muttered under his breath, slamming on the gas pedal, trying to recover.<br/>
     “Ha! I am the king of throwing bombs!” Yamaguchi laughed when he got first place, and to be fair, he was. Tsukishima had just started actually moving again when a red shell slammed into him, followed by a squid as several NPCs passed him.<br/>
     “Oh my God, fourth? That’s bullshit.” He fumed, which just made Tadashi laugh more. “Come on, we’re playing something else.”<br/>
     “Are you really that upset?” he said, getting out of the seat.<br/>
     “I am not upset.” Kei snapped. “I just want to play something else.”<br/>
     “Uh-huh.”<br/>
     Kei shot him a glare but he just giggled as he set his coins down at Street Fighter. Despite his failure at Mario Kart, Tsukishima did pretty well from then on, taking wins in Street Fighter, air hockey, Tekken, Taiko: Drum Master, and some generic shooting-style game. Tadashi was no slouch either, winning Space Invaders by a wide margin along with PacMan and pinball.<br/>
     “We have enough for one more game.” Tsukishima said, counting the credits in his hand. “You pick.”<br/>
     “All or nothing?” he suggested, pointing to a DDR machine. Poor, naive, Tsukishima, feeling confident after his consecutive wins, agreed.<br/>
It only took him a few seconds for him to feel uneasy . Tadashi had jumped up on the platform like a pro, immediately selecting a song. It had started out slowly too, so it wasn’t until it sped up and Yamaguchi was still nailing perfect after perfect that he realized the severity his mistake. He leaned back on the metal bar behind him, all but giving up on trying to keep up. Tadashi was still hopping up and down, sweat dripping down his face with a smile.<br/>
     “How are you so good at this.” he groaned, chest heaving as he halfheartedly stepped on the back key when needed and ignoring nearly every other one.<br/>
     “This is, like, all I did when I was younger. I hung out with you and I played DDR.”<br/>
     “How did I not know that?”<br/>
     “I don’t know, I guess I figured you’d think it was lame and not want to hang out with me?”<br/>
     “It is lame.” Tsukishima teased. Tadashi laughed.<br/>
     “Bold words coming from the one losing.” he said breathlessly.<br/>
     The taunt lit a fire in Tsukishima and he stood up to actually try to win. It was a useless venture, of course. His movements were clumsy and unnatural where Tadashi’s were smooth and efficient. He plops down on the edge  of the platform, catching his breath and grumbling something how he got all sweaty for nothing..<br/>
     “Yes! I win!” Tadashi celebrated, sitting down to rest on his side. He ran his fingers underneath it. “Hey, I found a coin! You know what that means?” he said, rising and walking to stand in front of Tsukishima.<br/>
     “Please don’t say another round.” he begged, looking up at his friend.<br/>
     “Nope,” Tadashi said, reaching out a hand, “You get to win me a Tikachu from that machine over there." He took the help up and the coin. Luckily, claw machines were his specialty. To neither of their surprises, he got it first try.<br/>
     “Thank you.” he said, looking down at it.<br/>
     “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Tsukishima said, waving him off, disgusted at how his heat twisted with affection. Looking down on him he had the unshakable urge to kiss the top off his head. He saw Tadashi throw up a peace sign and take a selfie with the Tikachu, camera angled to include him in the shot. He rolled his eyes and cleared his throat.<br/>
     “30,000 yen down the drain, and all we have to show for it is that shitty Tikachu.” he sighed.<br/>
     “I like it.” Tadashi looked up at him with such a happy look that his heart skipped a beat and he felt his face heat up.<br/>
Dammit, Tadashi. He thinks, thrusting out his hand for Tadashi after he puts his phone away. The sun was setting by then and Tadashi paused to take a photo of it. When they returned to his doorstep it was nearly dark.<br/>
     “That was fun.” Yamaguchi said, turning to face his boyfriend.<br/>
     “Yeah, uh, do you want to do something later this week too? We can-”<br/>
     “Yes! Uh, sorry.”<br/>
     “It’s fine.” There was a pause.<br/>
     “Um, ok, bye.” Tadashi said, leaning in quickly to hug him. Kei barely had time to wrap his arms around him when he said, “I’ll see you at practice tomorrow.” and turned to go inside.</p>
<hr/><p>     For a few days after their second date, very little changed between them. When they hung out they would sit closer to each other, or when they watched a movie their hands were sure to be intertwined. But besides that it was just business as usual, walking to school together, eating lunch together, walking home, repeat. He tried to not let it get to him, but it bothered Tadashi. They’d certainly gotten more comfortable around each other and the idea of being boyfriends, no longer falling prey to awkward pauses or stuttering. But still, he worried that maybe Tsukishima wasn’t as keen as he was. Tsukishima was the one who asked him out, sure, but that didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to be his boyfriend. He had even said “if you want”. Tadashi decided to muster up the courage and ask him about it.<br/>
     “You know what I’ve noticed?” he said, picking at the fingers locked with his.<br/>
     “Hm?” Kei responded absentmindedly, eyes on the movie playing on the laptop in front of them.<br/>
     “This probably sounds pretty dumb right now, but have you noticed that things haven’t really changed between us?” Kei looked down at their hands and back up at his boyfriend. “Look, I said it sounded stupid right now, didn’t I? But think about it, besides this,” he squeezed his hand, “nothing’s different. And we don’t even do this often.”<br/>
     “So?”<br/>
     “Well, I was just thinking about why, and if you don’t really want to date me, you don’t have to.”<br/>
     “That’s so stupid, Tadashi, why would I date you if I didn’t actually want to?"<br/>
     "Yeah..." Yamaguchi agreed, but he looked worried. Kei sighed.<br/>
     "I just think… well I’m not exactly out to anyone. But even if I were, I’ve always thought that PDA was gross. You know that. So don’t worry about that again, it’s ridiculous. Of course I want to be with you.”<br/>
Yamaguchi nodded, and looked back at the screen. Tsukishima frowned. He still didn’t look convinced, so he made a decision that made his heart beat in double time. He took his free hand and reached to Yamaguchi’s cheek, pulling his head closer to kiss his temple. Before Yamaguchi even had time to recover from whatever the hell that was, Kei let go of his hand, wrapping it around his shoulders.<br/>
     “I mean it.” he said, eyes back on the laptop.<br/>
     “I believe you.” Tadashi squeaked, his heart somehow thumping and melting at the same time.<br/>
     Their date the following day was different in a few ways. The first way was that Kei basically did not let go of Tadashi the whole time. Whether it was actually holding his hand or a hand on the back they were always touching. It made Tadashi blush as they looked through old albums. The second way it was different, was that Kei was being weird again. He really had though they’d gotten over all this nonsense. The CD store wasn’t really packed-it never was- but still the looks that people gave them, even if they weren’t glares, made Tsukishima grit his teeth. Yamaguchi didn’t notice much, besides seeing how stiff he was and how conversations didn’t flow as easily. He tried to lighten the mood by making jokes about how an old Kyary Pamyu Pamyu album was perfect for him but his smile seemed forced.<br/>
     They stopped by an ice cream shop on the way back, Tsukishima insisting on paying for both of their popsicles. It was nice being together, but the stiffness of the other boy made it impossible for Tadashi to totally relax. It was especially hard to relax when the third unique feature of the night happened. They were saying goodbye on Tadashi’s front step. Kei stayed longer than strictly necessary, swinging both of his boyfriend’s hands with his own. This wasn’t unusual. Sometimes Yamaguchi's parents had to come and yell at him to go inside for Kei to leave. But this time he didn’t say much as he studied Tadashi’s face, which was babbling away about some topic or another, he wasn’t really paying attention. He smiled anyway when Tadashi laughed at his own joke before growing silent, looking back up at him.<br/>
     Tsukishima tugged him closer by his hands, dipping a little to bring their lips closer. There was this crushing moment where he hesitated, their noses slotted next to each other, but their lips weren’t touching. Yamaguchi didn’t dare let himself exhale as he felt Kei’s body heat on his face. Finally, finally, after what felt like years but was really just a few seconds, their lips pressed together. Yamaguchi was pretty sure his eyes were still open, but he couldn’t see anything. He could only hear the blood rushing in his ears, and feel Kei’s grip tighten around his fingers. It was really only a peck, but he could still feel his knees wobble a little. He felt like he was going to throw up in the best way possible, and absolutely cursed that feeling because as Kei would say, ew, and it so wasn’t one of the romantic thoughts he wanted to have in his head after his first kiss.<br/>
     Tsukishima was also not having much luck on the ‘staying cool’ front. He knew when he pulled away that his face was pinker than it had ever been, flushing all the way to his ears. He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling too hard. Scratching the back of his neck, he cleared his throat.<br/>
     “Um,” he said, taking Tadashi’s hand again, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” Yamaguchi looked down at their hands, his stomach flipping as he watched Kei’s thumbs rubbing soft circles on the back of his hands.<br/>
     “Yeah,” he replied dreamily, “See you later.”<br/>
     Kei took a few steps back, letting their hands drop.</p>
<hr/><p>   After their first kiss, the floodgates opened, and it turned out, the two of them loved kissing one another. Even though most of their kisses didn’t land on lips, the option being on the table at all made them a thousand times more comfortable with more casual pieces of affection. Yamaguchi specifically took this in stride. He began kissing Tsukishima on the cheek everyday when they met on the way to school. He reveled in the way it made the taller boy blush or smile, or even roll his eyes as if he were annoyed with the attention. Yamaguchi didn’t much appreciate other people making Kei look less than cool, but when he did it, it felt weirdly empowering. He never had an abundance of power in the relationship- not in a bad way or anything; Tsukishima would never abuse any advantage he had over Tadashi and they both enjoyed and respected each other too much for anything toxic to come about. But still, it was always him that trailed behind Kei. But whenever he leaned over to kiss his cheek (which he did just about every chance he got), the forwardness always took the ever-cocky Tsukishima aback. It made Tadashi grin ear-to-ear just thinking about it.<br/>
     Probably his favorite thing to come out of this situation, though, were not the kisses he not gave, but the ones he received. It only happened when it was just the two of them, like the other night, for example. Tadashi hunched over his equations at his desk. Kei said nothing as he wrapped his arms around Tadashi’s neck, leaning over his shoulder to check his work. He leaned back into the touch, well aware that Kei was probably judging him for stopping his work, but he would never get anything done with someone scrutinizing him in real time.<br/>
     “Good,” he hummed, apparently satisfied with Yamaguchi’s answers. Before he retracted, he planted a kiss on his temple, patting his shoulder as he went back to Tadashi’s bed. “Hurry up, I’m getting bored.”<br/>
     Ok, the last comment kind of broke the sweet moment, but gods, Tadashi could just melt when Kei kissed the side of his head like that. It was quickly becoming his favorite thing in existence, and Tsukishima was generally willing to indulge him when he tilted his head up for one. Tadashi let the other set the pace for more intimate kisses. Despite what it seemed Kei was trying to prove, he was well aware about his disdain for public affection, which he really had been meaning to talk to him about. Ever since he had pointed out how little had changed between them, Kei seemed hellbent on showing him otherwise. It was sweet how he had begun to walk Yamaguchi all the way home each night or how he put his arm around his shoulders regardless of the people that could see him. But Yamaguchi could see resentment flicker in his eyes when he did so or how he became strangely quiet on the walks home, almost like he was annoyed with Yamaguchi for making him walk farther than he wanted to. Of course, he never said any of that to Tadashi, but he picked it up all the same. He decided to broach the subject after practice the following day, when they were the only two left in the team room after practice.<br/>
     “Are you mad at me?” he asked, pulling his sweaty t-shirt over his head.<br/>
     “No.” Tsukishima slipped on his jacket as he sat by the door, waiting for the other boy. “Why would I be?”<br/>
     “I don’t know, but you seem like it.” Tsukishima grunted, a little perturbed by the accusation. “See?” Yamaguchi pointed out, “Grumpy.” He laughed an apology when a glare was shot in his direction.<br/>
     “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Kei huffed.<br/>
     “Well I notice it when you walk me home. And when there are other people looking at us. But I don’t want you to be upset with me.” He shut his locker a little harder than necessary for emphasis. “And I think I know why.” He took his boyfriend’s flushed silence as his cue to continue, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “You don’t have to overcompensate. I know how much you care about me.”<br/>
     “Yamaguchi, I wouldn’t be touching you if I didn’t want to.” Kei was still sitting, but he sat up straighter.<br/>
     “But it still makes you uncomfortable. It’s okay if we’re not constantly touching.” he made his way over to him, leaning down to kiss his nose, grinning when Kei’s ears turned red. “I don’t want you to act like anyone but yourself, ‘kay?”<br/>
     “Whatever.” he grumbled, getting up to leave.<br/>
     “So what are you fine with?” he pressed, but Tsukishima only responded with huff and walked briskly out of the room “Talk to meeee!” Yamaguchi whined, running to catch up. “Hmm, lets see… Do you want to stop holding my hand on the way to school?”<br/>
     “...Yes.” he said, begrudgingly. Tsukishima felt completely embarrassed about the whole need for this conversation. If he had just stayed inside his comfort zone, it could have all been avoided. He especially hated how obvious all this had been to Tadashi. The worst part was how on the mark he was, knowing how irked he was with his own behaviour. That had to have made Tadashi feel worse than before, right?<br/>
     “What about me kissing you on the cheek in the morning? Are you ok with that?”<br/>
     “Um, yeah.”<br/>
     “Tsukki,” he prompted again to make sure he wasn’t just saying that for his benefit.<br/>
     “Seriously! There's usually not too many people on that corner anyway.”<br/>
     They went back and forth a few times about other boundaries, and Tadashi, all in all considered it a success.<br/>
     “Oh, and one more thing.” he added, bumping their shoulders and breaking the comfortable silence that had settled over them, “You don’t have to walk me all the way home. I know how lazy you can be.” He couldn’t stifle his giggle when Tsukishima shoved him away.<br/>
     “Shut up, Yamaguchi!” He rolled his eyes, secretly enjoying the sound. An idea sprung into his head when they reached the crossroad where they split off. “Hey,” he said before the other could head home. Yamaguchi turned around, surprised by the hands on his cheeks and the lips that landed on his. “That’s still okay too, just so you know.” Tadashi nodded vigorously than intended, his eyes following Kei as he walked away. Tsukishima smirked to himself, more than happy with how he earned the last word.</p>
<hr/><p>     On the first day of summer break excitement buzzed throughout every classroom. The energy seemed palpable to Yamaguchi. He was very much looking forward to spending the next month or so with his boyfriend, not that they didn’t see each other enough as is. They’d just both been busy at the most inconvenient times that it had been far too long since they had stayed at each other’s house for the night. In fact, looking back, Yamaguchi didn’t think they’d had a sleepover since they’d started dating, a couple of months ago. So when Tsukishima had asked to spend the night he had been eager to jump at the opportunity. Their coach had called practice early that day because no one could focus. Everyone was too jumpy and ready to go home. The team was just as quick at changing into their street clothes. Tsukishima had his headphones on to mask the chatter of his teammates as they all filled each other in on their plans.<br/>
     “See you later, Yamaguchi!” The final one left walking them as he peeled off down his own street.<br/>
     “Yeah, see you later.”.<br/>
     “You too, Tsukki!” he called behind him. Tsukishima vaguely nodded towards the direction of the sound. Yamaguchi stopped in his tracks.<br/>
     “What?” he snapped, whipping around, but his friend was already out of earshot. He couldn’t help how his hands clenched in anger.<br/>
     “Yamaguchi? Come on.” Kei said when he saw how Tadashi had froze. Tadashi was too busy glaring holes into the back of his teammate. “Hey.” Kei took a step back to smack his arm, taking off his headphones. “What happened?”<br/>
     “He called you Tsukki.”<br/>
     “Did he?”<br/>
     “Yeah, he did.” Tadashi said, his voice steely, before continuing walking.<br/>
     “Seriously?” Tsukishima laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”<br/>
     “What do you mean?”<br/>
     “Ah, it’s nothing,” he smiled cockily, “I just didn’t know you got jealous.”<br/>
     “I do not!”<br/>
     “Uh-huh.”<br/>
     “I hate you.”<br/>
     “Oh, I’m sure.”<br/>
     Yamaguchi furrowed his eyebrows and kept going in a sullen silence. He really didn’t even know why he was so thrown off. It’s not like he owned the nickname. The rest of the walk home they stayed quiet. The arrogant aura that Kei was radiating only just made him more upset. It was only after they had changed into their pajamas that Kei got annoyed enough with the tension to come down off his high horse.<br/>
     “Alright, that’s enough.” He said plugging his phone in and setting it down on the nightstand.<br/>
     “Enough of what?” Yamaguchi was picking at his already over-picked cuticles, desperately trying to act nonchalant and failing miserably. He shifted awkwardly in his place on the other edge of the bed.<br/>
     “Oh shut up, this isn’t going to work.”<br/>
     “Whatever do you mean?”<br/>
     “Tadashi.” Kei was also trying to sound nonchalant, but actually succeeding at it. Yamaguchi turned around to face his boyfriend with a pout and Kei couldn’t help but chuckle. He looked adorable. Pathetic, sure, but adorable. He walked around the end until he was in front of Tadashi. His hands brushed away the other boy’s bangs as he leaned down to plant a kiss on his forehead, effectively making him drop his surly expression. “What do you want from me here?”<br/>
     “I don’t know.” Tadashi shrugged. It was only a little bit of a lie. He wanted to be the only one that called him Tsukki. After all, he came up with it. But he also couldn’t help but feel like an asshole for wanting it. So he just smiled up at Tsukishima, hoping that pretending the issue away would get rid of it.<br/>
     “So,” Kei started, not quite satisfied with the smile, but too tired to press it “are you too busy sulking or are you going to help me get the bedding?” He was already heading out of the room to the hall closet when Tadashi called after him.<br/>
     “Uh, actually, I was thinking, we could just share my bed.” He was so absorbed in looking at the bed he just proposed they’d share that he didn’t notice Kei’s flush.<br/>
     “Share?”<br/>
     “Well, um, yeah! Why not, you know? We are dating after all, and it’s not really worth the effort when we can just... share.” He continued, hoping the appeal to Tsukishima’s laziness would convince him.<br/>
     “Uh, sure, whatever.” He flicked off the light switch, Tadashi’s light on the nightstand glowed, casting a purplish light through the room. Well, light was a generous term for it. It was a nightlight, plain and simple and it had been plugged in by Tadashi’s bed for as long as Kei could remember. He’d actually grown rather fond of it himself, and had talked Yamaguchi into keeping it when he rearranged his room a few years back. The glow was a comfort as he slid under the duvet and he was thankful for the lack of total darkness. This way he could see his boyfriend’s face when he did the same, however backlit it may have been. They hadn’t shared a bed before, and the change was strange, but feeling the dip in the mattress next to him and the warmth from the other boy’s body was actually kind of nice. The silence that settled over the pair as they studied each other’s faces in the dim lighting was relaxed, but both of them felt some low hanging anticipation over them, almost like a fear that they were going to get caught. It was a stupid thing to concern themselves with. Tadashi’s parents had long since gone to bed and even if one of them did poke their head in, they couldn’t care less. Still, it made Tsukishima’s stomach twist in a not all that unpleasant manner.<br/>
     He reached out to run his thumb across a new freckle that had formed on Tadashi’s face, hsi hand cupping his other cheek. No, of course he didn’t alway notice when a new one popped up, but this one was dark, and the difference was stark against the paler skin under Tadashi’s eye. His face still looked preoccupied and there was a small crease still etched onto his brow that Kei didn’t like. Yamaguchi gently grabbed his wrist and he had such an urge to kiss him that he barely thought twice before doing so. Them both laying on their sides made the kiss more awkward than necessary and when he pulled away he accidentally yanked out one of Tadashi’s hairs that got caught in the hinge of his glasses. Still, it wasn’t long before he dove back in. A voice in the back of his head told him he looked like a total idiot right then, imploring him to stop and be cool about this, Tsukishima needed his lips on Yamaguchi’s like he needed oxygen, but no matter how many pecks he gave, he only craved more. So he let himself go. He pushed his face forward with more force, distantly concerned that Tadashi might not be a hundred present on board with this. His eyes flashed open, but he seemed just as into it, eyes shut and blush high on his cheeks. He exhaled sharply through his nose, leaning into the hand on his cheek for a new angle, and, well, Tsukishima’s hand was on his cheek. The point is, Tsukishima was certain he had all the consent he needed when he pulled them even closer together, despite the pair already being liplocked. Honestly, it was kind of gross. It was the first time their kisses had gone farther than small and sweet individual things. These ones were needy, and blended together indistinctly. It was messy as their unpracticed mouths opened a little further than normal, craving to be closer. Yamaguchi simply mirrored whatever Kei was doing, content with letting the other set the pace, taking whatever he would give.<br/>
     Kei mumbled a curse before wrenching off his glasses, placing them haphazardly on the bedside table, ignoring how they clattered to the floor. His hand returned, resting on the back of Tadashi’s neck, scooting in more for leverage. He hated that the face in front of him was blurry now, but the way his glasses were fogging up, he couldn’t see much of anything anyway. Yamaguchi felt awkward with his hands just curled up between them, so he reached to put them on Tsukishima's waist, but that just felt weirder. He settled for putting them on his arms, jostling them both a bit as he wormed his hand under Kei’s bicep. His thumbs circled the bumpy skin there. Tsukishima has always had bumpy arms, almost like permanent goosebumps, though less intense. He scratched at them, not picking like he sometimes subconsciously did, all too focused on the mouth pressed against his to do anything that might have taken more than two brain cells. He giggled when Kei was actually brave enough to creep past his lips. It was such a weird sensation. Foreign, but hot, and wet, and he was actually grateful they were laying down despite the uncomfortable positioning because he was certain that if they were standing his knees would have given out. When he pulled away to laugh he saw just how red Tsukishima's face and ears had gotten and the embarrassment in his eyes. There was something else in them too, that Yamaguchi couldn’t identify but made his heart skip a beat and his laugh was replaced with a whimper. That annoying and frustratingly attractive smirk painted across Kei’s face again and it was all Tadashi could do to not whimper again.<br/>
     Tsukishima propped himself on his elbow, finally freeing the hand that had been wedged between Tadashi’s cheek and the pillow, enamored by how his eyes reflected the purple light as he rolled him onto his back. He balanced his weight on his forearm on the other side of Tadashi’s head. He relished in the way Yamaguchi gripped a handful of his t-shirt and how his mouth opened easily for him. He inhaled and could smell his sweat, something he probably would have normally thought of as gross, but honestly, there’s probably absolutely nothing that could make him find Yamaguchi not attractive in that moment. He was hesitant as their tongues met, never staying in for long, but the feeling was still enough to make Tadashi’s to exhale shakily, something Kei was beginning to think he’d never tire of hearing. The parted for air and he could see the muscles and tendons in Yamaguchi's neck move as his chest heaved and when he moved his lips down to kiss them too, Tadashi’s let out a gasp that made Kei pause, his nose still pressed against his neck. It was already a warm night, and he was beginning to feel too hot in more ways than one. He couldn't help but leave one more kiss there before he retracted completely, laying flat on his back.<br/>
     “What happened?” Tadashi asked, popping up.<br/>
     “You’re too much. As always.” He pulls Tadashi down for another kiss, this one far more chaste. Even so, there was still that unresolved tension left on Yamaguchi’s face. He briefly thought back trying to remember anything that happened before their lips were smashed together.<br/>
     “Oh, and I promise from now on I’ll ask people not to call me Tsukki. Are we good now?”<br/>
     “More than good.” Yamaguchi laughed, laying back down. Kei rolled his eyes before closing them, beginning to doze off.<br/>
     That night, Yamaguchi found it hard to sleep. He was vaguely aware that his body was tired but his mind kept racing on about what had happened and how now, Kei was curled up in front of him, arms around his torso, and face pressed against his chest, his warm breath dampening Tadashi’s shirt. Breathing looked like it would be a little difficult in that position but Kei’s slow inhales told him that he was asleep. All Yamaguchi could do was hold him, his fingers reaching up to play at the hairline on the nape of his neck. It was soft and Tadashi melted at the way it curled around his fingers. He was actually a little upset that he didn’t think to put his hand in Kei’s hair earlier. Next time, he thinks. Hopefully.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hey! sorry this took so long, school and water polo started back up, plus, I'm attempting to participate in Inktober, so you can imagine how writing time has got out the window a bit. I'm also getting really into the Magnus Archives and I can't really write while listening to a podcast. I hope the length compensated for my tardiness!<br/>Please point out any typos, I didn't edit much because I just wanted this chapter up. The next one is already finished so I'll probably post it in a week or two to give me time to finish the last one.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tsukishima has a rough day. It gets worse. Then better.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     “Kei, what are you doing?” Tadashi laughed as Tsukishima dragged him up the stairs to his room.<br/>     They had barely taken off their shoes when he had grabbed his hand and moved quickly up the stairs, and considering Tsukishima’s pace rarely ever surpassed “leisurely,” Tadashi was a tad confused. They didn’t really have a good day. Well, Yamaguchi’s day was fine, but it was obvious that his boyfriend was a little less happy about it. Everything had just gone wrong for him. One of the stupid loudmouths in his stupid math class would not leave him alone. Akamine-Sensei, the far too old teacher didn’t really bother to control the class as she let them loose on some worksheet that Tsukishima had already finished. The aforementioned loudmouth, Ueno Goro, sat right next to Tsukishima and he was blabbing like he had some sort of quota to fill. Sitting near him and listening to his constant chatter to those around him was bad enough, but now Ueno was targeting him.<br/>     “Tsukishima-kun, did you already finish it already? Wow, I guess you are super smart.” Ueno marveled. He tried to peek over to see some of the answers, but Kei’s arm covered most of them.<br/>     “This is an advanced class, you’d think we’re all supposed to be smart.” Tsukishima said with the false cheer he always used when people tried to talk to him. It was exhausting to act like that all day, but even though he didn’t want to talk to or be friends with these kids, he didn’t want to make enemies either. That would be even more annoying. The way that Ueno narrowed his eyes made Kei think that maybe he wasn’t falling for it.<br/>     “You should let me copy it. It would go a lot quicker.”<br/>     “Sorry, I’m not going to do that. Please don’t ask again.” He smiled.<br/>     “Please,” Ueno whined, “Just this once. Come on!” he begged, the sound of his voice grating into Tsukishima’s skull. “Kei!”<br/>     “Don’t call me that!” he snapped. “Um, sorry, but please call me Tsukishima instead.” Ueno grinned.</p>
<p>     “I didn’t know you were capable of that! I promise to never call you that again if you let me see your answers.”<br/>     “It’s not gonna happen, Ueno-san. I don’t let people copy off of me.” Kei gritted out. He was really ticked now. This guy wouldn’t leave him alone.<br/>     “How about Tsukki, then?” Goro tried after a pause, lowering his head to the desk to meet Tsukishima’s eyes. He had attempted the ‘do not engage and maybe he’ll go away’ tactic, but I guess that wasn’t even enough to deter him.<br/>     “Definitely don’t call me Tsukki.”<br/>     “Why nooootttt?” Ueno said, “That one guy calls you Tsukki, right? What’s his name…Yamagata! No! Yamaguchi, right?”<br/>     “And?”<br/>     “Well why is he so special? Tsukki, Tsukki, Tsukki!”<br/>     “Stop it!” Kei took a deep breath. “I asked you to not call me that.”<br/>     “What’s your deal, Tsukki?”<br/>     “What’s yours!”<br/>     “Uhhh… Tsukishima Kei!” Akamine-sensei yelled from her place in the front of the class. “Keep your voice down, boy, or I’ll send you to the principal!”<br/>Tsukishima glared at Ueno and looked down at his hands. They were curled into fists, so he pulled his paper under his elbows as he propped up his head. This kid got him yelled at by the teacher. He had never been yelled at by a teacher. Teachers loved him. He closed his eyes and tried to tune out everything going on around him. He tried to think happy thoughts. That new album he bought yesterday was pretty good. Dinosaurs are still dope. Tadashi’s smile. The way that he would blush and laugh after Kei kissed him, even though by this point they were used to kissing each other. Well, ‘used to’ was a strong phrase, he’d never be used to it, he’s sure. It had been months since they started dating, but even though he’d never let Tadashi know it, he still left Kei weak in the knees. He couldn’t help how his lips upturned when he thought of a joke Tadashi told him the previous day; “Do you know what the best thing about Switzerland is? I’m not sure, but the flag is a big plus.” “That’s so dumb.” “Then why are you laughing?”<br/>     “Why are you smiling?” Ueno said, interrupting his thoughts. Tsukishima shot him a sideways look, but didn’t interact. “What are you thinking about? Yamaguchi?” Kei huffed out a breath. “You know, I think I’ve seen you laugh with him. You know, during break? Not that fake one you do in here sometimes.” Tsukishima stayed silent. “So you’re different around him. No big deal, he could just be your best friend, right?” Ueno lowered his voice, “That is, unless-”<br/>     “Shut up!” Kei stood up and slammed his hand into the desk.<br/>     “Wow.” Ueno whispered mouthed when Akimine-sensei rose in turn.<br/>     “Tsukishima, out!” she cried.<br/>     Kei cringed inwardly as he felt the eyes of the class fall on him for the second time that day. He bit his lip to keep from groaning in frustration as he grabbed his bag. He shoved his pencil into it and it took all of his willpower not to slam the chair into the desk. Ueno waved mockingly and snickered as Tsukishima made his way to the front, worksheet in hand. He placed the paper firmly on the desk.<br/>     “I finished.” He said in his cheerful voice, not caring that she saw his face drop to a look of pure indignation. He stormed out the door. The rest of the day he barely spoke. Even Yamaguchi tried to draw him into making fun of some random boy that was making too much noise. Kei nodded along to what he was saying, but he didn’t join in. The whole way home was strangely quiet, even for Tsukki. Even when they got inside the gate to Kei’s house and Yamaguchi took his hand and asked again if he was okay, he just huffed and didn’t respond. All he did was squeeze Tadashi’s hand tighter and pull him up the stairs, slamming the door behind them.<br/>     “Kei-” Tadashi started when Tsukishima promptly fell into his arms. Tadashi was shocked, but wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. “What’s going on?” he sighed, rubbing circles into his back, mostly relieved that Tsukki is okay.<br/>     “I’ve had such a shit day.” Tsukishima said into Yamaguchi’s shoulder, gripping the back of his shirt.<br/>     “I’m sorry. I heard you got sent out of class. Do you want to talk about it?” Tadashi felt Tsukishima shake his head no. He hugged tighter. “Okay. That’s okay.”<br/>     “This kid was just being a bitch.” Tsukki murmured, making Tadashi laugh.<br/>     “Was that kid you?”<br/>     “Shut up, Tadashi.” Tsukishima grumbled, but Yamaguchi could hear the amusement in his voice..<br/>     “Sorry, Tsukki.” Tadashi smiles. Kei let go of the embrace and laid his bed, sighing towards the ceiling, pushing up his glasses to rub his eyes with the heels of his palms. The other boy plopped onto the bed next to him, propping himself up on his elbows. He smiled down at his boyfriend. “What do you want me to do, then?”<br/>Tsukishima opened up the arm closest to Yamaguchi, who pressed his head onto his shoulder, arm resting on his chest. Kei removed his glasses from his face and onto the nightstand.<br/>     “You going to sleep?” he laughed, nosing Kei’s jaw. He snorted and rested the hand that wasn’t wrapped around him on Tadashi’s shoulder.<br/>     “No. I’m just sick of seeing things.”<br/>     Yamaguchi snickered and kissed under his jaw, hearing Kei sigh again, this time with relief. Tadashi continued to kiss up his jaw, and felt his boyfriend’s body relax underneath his hand. He wiggled his way up so that his face hovered above Tsukishima’s, close enough to feel his breath. He brought the hand that was on his chest to hold Kei’s cheek and pulled him into a kiss. He felt the warmth that he always felt when they did this grow in his chest. He knew that his face was probably pink, but he couldn’t help but smile against Kei’s lips. Tsukishima’s eyes slid shut, letting the other do all the work. As long as things weren’t getting too hot and heavy, he was more than happy not taking the lead. When Tadashi’s mouth began to open just a little bit trying to creep a little tongue in, however, he twisted so that Tadashi was the one lying down and Kei’s weight settled on his forearm and the hand on the other side of his head. He huffed out through his nose as he tentatively brushed his tongue against Yamaguchi’s lips. Sure, they’ve kissed each other plenty in the past few months, but making out like this was relatively new. They've only gone this far a few times.<br/>     Kei slipped his tongue in, running it along his hard palate as Tadashi’s own tongue greeted him. Their tongues moved together in a way that made Kei feel lightheaded. He retracted to catch his breath, nipping at Tadashi’s lip in the meantime. The gasp he was rewarded with made him dive right back in. Their lips moved together with passion and soon they found their comfortable rhythm that made the both of them pant. Any hesitance they had dissipated as their tongues chased each other back and forth. After a while, Kei found himself in need of more leverage. He swung his leg around so that he was straddled above Yamaguchi, forearms on either side of his head. He moved his hand to the left to thread his fingers in his hair, needing to be closer.<br/>     “‘S hot.” Kei mumbled against Tadashi’s lips before pulling his bottom lip in between his own. Tadashi reached up to unbutton Tsukishima’s uniform, keeping his hands on his sides when he was done.<br/>     “Better?” he asked, when Tsukishima rose to let him breathe. He turned his head to the side to hide his face as he flushed, feeling scrutinized under his gaze. Kei hummed his confirmation as he met the other’s lips again, alternating deep kisses with lighter ones at a pace that made Tadashi’s head spin. Yamaguchi tugged at Kei’s biceps, pulling his arms farther down so he could wrap his own around Kei’s neck, twirling his fingers in blonde hair. The rest of the world fell away around them, and all they could do was keep breathing in the muggy air between them and press harder into each other. Tadashi caught his teeth on Kei’s lip, but in his fervor he accidentally bit down. Kei grunted in discomfort.<br/>     “Don’t,” he murmured, but didn’t stop going.<br/>     “Sorry,” Yamaguchi breathed back, the tinge of embarrassment fading quickly when he saw that Kei really didn’t mind that much. As an apology of sorts, he doubled his efforts, turning his head to change up the position. He placed his hands on either side of Tsukishima’s face, gliding his tongue a little further than he dared to before. Kei made a sound in the back of his throat that made Tadashi whimper too. Kei broke the kiss, but their lips still touched with the rise and falls of their chests.<br/>     “Fuck, Tadashi, I-”<br/>     “Keeeeiiiii, guess who dropped by for a surprise visit!” A voice sing-songed from the door, which unceremoniously flung open. Kei was frozen in horror as his eyes met Akiteru’s, who was similarly frozen in the doorway.    “HOLY SHIT!” he shouted after the pause, a slight grin on his face from utter shock.<br/>     “Oh my god!” Kei spluttered, eyes wide in embarrassment. Akiteru was still glued in place. “OH MY GOD!” he repeated, grabbing the pillow next to Yamaguchi’s head and chucking it at his brother. “GET OUT!”<br/>     “RIGHT!” Akiteru yelped, spurred to action. He slammed the door behind him and marched straight to his own room. “I DIDN’T SEE ANYTHING!”<br/>     “Boys?” their mother called from downstairs, “What’s going on?”<br/>     “NOTHING!” they yelled back in unison.<br/>     Tsukishima’s head fell down to look at Yamaguchi. His stomach turned and his heart was pounding from the jolt of getting caught. Tadashi’s fists were curled, bunching the fabric on Kei’s shoulders. His body was hunched as it was when he cringed away from the door when Akiteru burst it. From what Kei could see of his mostly concealed face, Tadashi was bright red. Tsukishima sat up, settling on his boyfriend’s lap. His hands fell from Kei’s shoulders, going straight to cover the parts of his face that were still visible.<br/>     “You know he’s gone now, right?” Kei said. His face was flushed too, and the humiliation made him want to collapse in on himself, but he was slightly more composed. Yamaguchi shook his head so violently, his whole body moved with it. Tsukishima barked out an uncomfortable laugh, and moved so that he was kneeling next to Tadashi instead, who used the freedom of movement to curl up into a ball of shame.<br/>     “I can never show my face in your home again.” he squeaked. Tsukishima leaned over him with a smile. Of course, he was furious at his brother for breaking the clearly established knocking rule, but Tadashi was just too adorable.<br/>     “I wouldn’t go that far.” Yamaguchi sat up so fast, he would have smacked their heads together if it wasn’t for the other’s reflexes.<br/>     “I can’t! I might literally die.”<br/>     “I should hope not.” Yamaguchi rolled his eyes and pouted. “He’s never going to be able to keep his mouth shut.” Tsukishima thought out loud, “I probably have to come out now.”<br/>     “Wait, really?”<br/>     “I mean, I guess. My mom won’t care, and it’s not like Akiteru can keep quiet for long.”<br/>     “Okay, if that’s what you want, I’m here.” Tadashi smiled, putting a hand on top of Kei’s. Kei let him for a while before whipping his hand away with a blush.<br/>     “Alright, we don’t need to get all sappy about it.” he snapped, but leaned in to plant another kiss on Yamaguchi’s lips anyway, who pulled away with a cringe. “What?” Tsukishima asked, alarmed.<br/>     “Sorry, I think everytime we kiss now, I’m gonna think about Akiteru walking in, oh my God.” Yamaguchi said, facepalming.<br/>     “Stop that!”<br/>     “I wish I could. I’m just gonna have to never kiss you again.”<br/>     “Asshole,” Kei scoffed, “You couldn’t if you tried.”</p>
<hr/>
<p>     The family room was silent once everyone had been seated. A sense of trepidation was palpable to all present, save Mrs. Tsukishima who was mostly just confused. Akiteru sat next to her on the couch, assuming he knew what this whole “family meeting” was about. Tsukishima barely participated in family meetings, let alone called them. Tadashi, the poor thing, was gripping the arm of the armchair with enough nervous energy to power all of Japan. His leg bounced, and the rapid tapping did little to ease everyone’s anxiety. Even Kei’s aloof energy was sullied by stress, though he tried very hard to fight it. He stood before them, twisting his fingers, and took a deep breath.<br/>     “I don’t want anyone to freak out or anything, but you need to know,” he cleared his throat awkwardly, “That I’m gay.” His voice wobbled a bit, but he tried to cover it with a cough. He was met with silence. “Um, that’s it.”<br/>He looked at the ground to avoid eye contact, but then crossed his arms and looked back up. He wasn’t going to be lame about this, so help him. His mother wiped a tear away from her eyes and wore a grin that matched Akiteru’s. She nearly stumbled on the coffee table on her way over to hug him. He tolerated it with a grimace before pushing her back.<br/>     “I said don’t freak out.” he complained.<br/>     “I love you so much. And I’m so proud of you.”<br/>     “Yeah, okay.”<br/>     “Kei.” She warned.<br/>     “Yes, I love you too.” Mrs. Tsukishima smiled at that, pulling Tsukishima’s head down to her level and kissing his forehead. He cringed but didn’t try to stop her. Any attempt would have been futile, anyway.<br/>     “You know what? I’ll make you some cake!” She exclaimed, scurrying off to the kitchen.<br/>     “You really don’t have to-” he tried, but she stuck her head out the doorway with a sunny smile.<br/>     “Kei, don’t be noisy.” she chided. He growled.<br/>     Tadashi got up from his chair when she was gone and slipped his hand into Kei’s. He leaned over to whisper into his ear how proud he was. Tsukishima dropped his head and leaned away from him, but intertwined their fingers. Akiteru took this as his cue to put an arm around Kei, who did not have the same qualms about shoving his brother.<br/>     “Kei, I-”<br/>     “Oh shut up, this is only happening because someone can’t keep a secret to save his life.” Kei said, elbowing Akiteru until he took a step back. He was unphased by his brother's usual surliness.<br/>     “Yeah, I know, right? Tadashi is such a blabbermouth.” Akiteru teased. Kei narrowed his eyes.<br/>     “Hey!” Yamaguchi objected.<br/>     “Alright, on that note, we’re going back to my room.” Kei grumbled, pulling Tadashi after him as he ascended the stairs.<br/>     “You two have fun, just not-”<br/>     “Teru, I will end you.” Kei glared from the lower steps.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hehehe </p>
<p>the Magnus Archives SLAPS by the way so guess who has a new fixation?<br/>its me. I do. </p>
<p>part of me says I should reread this before I post it but its like two am so fuck it I hope it wasn't too spectacularly shitty</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Hinata sees Tsukishima and Yamaguchi kiss after practice and panic ensues.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Hinata bounced onto the balcony that led to the team room. He had stayed to practice extra late with Kageyama and Yamaguchi, who wanted to improve his fundamentals to earn that starter spot next year. Even Tsukishima stayed behind with some begging from the three of them, though he bailed pretty quickly. Not long after that, Yamaguchi excused himself too, on account of Tsukishima getting crabby if he waited too long. The groundskeeper booted the final two after only a few more tosses, so overall it wasn’t a whole lot of extra practice. Even so, with Kageyama locking up, Hinata felt a strange sense of pride swell in him. He felt old. Not in a gross feeble way, but in a mature way! They had stayed alone after practice and locked up all by themselves! It was exciting! Look at them, only first years but they still can-<br/>     “BAHAHAHA!”<br/>     Laughter interrupted Hinata’s thoughts. It sounded like Yamaguchi; he must still be changing.<br/>     “Oh my God, you are so loud, Tadashi.” Even faintly, Hinata could make out the satisfaction and pride in Tsukishima’s voice, despite his objections.<br/>     “You like it.” Yamaguchi said affectionately as Shoyo neared the door. Right as he turned the corner, he saw something that made him freeze.<br/>     Tsukishima sat coolly against the small desk, facing the lockers, already fully prepared to head home. Yamaguchi also looked mostly ready, though his bag was still unzipped in his locker, and his jacket was still unbuttoned, facing back towards his friend. None of that was shocking. What did make Hinata stop in his tracks was the way that Tsukishima’s face was tilted upward, and that Yamaguchi’s hand was on his cheek, and they we freaKING LIP LOCKED IN THE TEAM ROOM. Hinata scrambled back from the door, out of sight from the two boys.<br/>    <em> What the heck, what the heck, WHAT THE HECK DID I JUST SEE?!</em> He thought, <em>Oh my god! Hinata, you idiot, that was a private moment! What are you, some kind of pervert!? Although, they were in the team room… Still! That was intimate! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Tsukishima so relaxed and content! Ah, jeez. What have I done? I feel dirty.</em><br/>     His internal monologue of panic was cut off when the two of them left the room, heading straight at Hinata.<br/>     “Oh, Hinata!” Tadashi said cheerfully, “You get kicked out or something?”<br/>     “Uh…” Hinata responded dumbly.<br/>     “Uh?” Tsukishima mocked. “Use your words, midget.”<br/>     “Are you okay, man? You look like you’re freaking out… ” Yamaguchi added, a little frantic, and a little amused as he noticed his friend’s wide eyes and clammy skin.<br/>     “What, uh, me? No! Pshh! I’m fine, totally fine, not freaked out at all! Why would I be? You’re the one freaking out!” Hinata finally formulated.<br/>     Tsukishima rolled his eyes and kept on walking. “Whatever, weirdo.” Yamaguchi hesitated, but continued on slowly.<br/>     “Um, no, I’m fine. But if you’re sure,” Tadashi put a warm hand on Hinata’s shoulder as he walked by, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”<br/>     “Yeah! Of course! See you then!” he shouted, racing into the team room to catch the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. He pulled off his sweaty practice shirt and began to change, lost in thought.<br/>     “Hey!” Hinata jumped at the sudden noise.<br/>     “Kageyama! Why are you yelling at me, what did I do?!”<br/>     “Yamaguchi asked me to make sure you were okay. Said you were acting weird.” he said suspiciously as he grabbed his things. “What’s up?”<br/>     “Oh.” Hinata said quietly, but didn’t elaborate.<br/>     “Hey, I asked you a question, you moron!” Kageyama shouted, but it didn’t get Hinata fired up like it normally did. He didn’t react at all. Tobio’s face dropped its anger. So this was a little more serious than he thought. But he was fine ten minutes ago, so what changed? “Are you good, Hinata?” Hinata pulled his hoodie over his head and looked up at him, resolve in his eyes.<br/>     “If I told you something, Kageyama, could you promise not to tell another soul?”<br/>     “Um… sure.” he gambled, fiercely curious. Hinata leaned over and whispered into Kageyama’s ear.<br/>     “WHAT?” he yelled, upon hearing the new, “NO FUCKING WAY!” Hinata just nodded vigorously in response. “But that’s so… bleh.” Kageyama said as it settled in, “I mean, who would ever want to kiss Tsukishima?”<br/>     “Yamaguchi freaking Tadashi, apparently!”<br/>     “ I can’t believe that asshole is dating someone before I am! Ugh!” Kageyama kicked the chair into the desk.<br/>     “Oh my God!” Hinata realized, “I never should have said anything!”<br/>     “Huh?” Hinata covered his mouth, guilt clouding his eyes.<br/>     “I’m a terrible friend! I can’t believe I just outed them!” Hinata began to roll on the floor in a panic. “Oh my God, I’m the worst person in the world!” Kageyama grimaced, and kicked his thigh.<br/>     “Hinata, shut up, moron!” he scolded halfheartedly, “You aren’t that awful of a person!”<br/>     “I’m not?” Shoyo blubbered, looking up at his friend.<br/>     “No. You only told me, right? And I don’t care about that kind of thing. I won’t tell anyone. So it's fine.” Kageyama grumbled, crossing his arms.<br/>     Hinata set his jaw, but stayed silent, and he swiftly finished up. The pair were quiet until they were down the street, about to split off.<br/>     “Hinata,” Kageyama said, “You should probably talk to them about it, you know.”<br/>     “Eep! Tsukishima would murder me!”<br/>     “Ah, you’ll be fine. Talk to Yamaguchi at least, okay?” Hinata nodded in determination.<br/>     “Right! Goodnight, Kageyama, I’ll see you tomorrow!” he called, beginning to pedal away.<br/>     “‘Night!” The setter yawned back. Ugh, he thought, too much drama for one night.</p><hr/><p>     “Yachiiiiiii!!!!!” Hinata yelled, running into his friend's classroom, searching frantically for familiar blond hair.<br/>     “Shoyo, hi!” She said happily, though a bit surprised about such a loud entrance. “Is everything alright?” Hinata looked around, defensively, but the people who occupied the desks around Hitoka were off elsewhere, so the coast was clear.<br/>     “I need your help!” he whispered, if you can call it that. It was intended to be a whisper, but it wasn’t really a whole lot quieter than a normal speaking voice.<br/>     “Okay. Is math giving you trouble again? I thought we handled that last ti-”<br/>     “I need your help,” Hinata began again, “And I can’t tell you why.”<br/>     “What?” She asked, confused, “How can I help if I don’t even know the problem?”<br/>     “Please!” he begged. “If I tell you why, I’d be the worst person in the world!” He whined. He had already told one person, another would be too far. “You’re pretty good friends with Yamaguchi, right?”<br/>     “Tadashi’s involved in something that could make you the worst person in the world?” she gasped, “Sorry, Hinata, I don’t think I can do anything that seems this important without knowing why!”<br/>     “Mm… fine, I’ll tell you.” Hinata said, much quieter. “But you have to swear that you tell no one else. And don’t freak out!”<br/>    “Ah, Hinata, this seems like a really big deal, are you sure-” her protest was cut off, when he whispered in her ear his secret anyway. He pulled away cautiously, gauging her reaction. She was… surprisingly calm.<br/>     “Hm, when you think about it, it’s not that weird.”<br/>     “Huh?! How is Tsukishim kissing anyone not weird!? And Yamaguchi’s gay!? I could have sworn I’ve heard him talk about a girl before!”<br/>     “Well, it’s not just gay or straight, Hinata. And, don’t you think if Tsukishima was going to kiss anyone, it would be Tadashi? You know, he genuinely smiles around him, and they’re always talking, and they just understand each other really implicitly. Well haven’t you noticed they’re always next to each other? Constantly?”<br/>     “But!” Hinata spluttered, “Best friends!” Yachi shook her head.<br/>     “I guess not. What did you want me to do?”<br/>     “Well, I was going to tell Yamaguchi that I saw them, just so he knows, but whenever I tried… it just hasn’t ended well. I thought you might be able to talk to him for me?” He pleaded.<br/>     “How was I supposed to do that without knowing why?”<br/>     “I don’t know! I was going to figure something out! Will you do it?”<br/>     “This doesn’t really seem like my place.” Yachi considered.<br/>     “Pleeeeaaaaase, Hitoka, I need you! I can’t do it! You’re so smart, and nice, and friendly, I’m sure you could figure it out. Even Tsukishima doesn’t hate you! You’re perfect!” he pouted. She flushed and shook her head, not in negation, but to clear her mind.<br/>     “Fine, I guess I could talk to Tadashi.” she finally conceded. Hinata shot up, and yanked Hitoka into a hug.<br/>     “Ahh, Yachi, you’re the best! I don’t deserve you!” He grinned.<br/>     “Sure you do,” she said, shaken physically and mentally, “That’s what friends are for, right?” Hinata’s eyes sparkled, as they looked into hers, but the bell rang, warning that break time was nearly over.<br/>     “Text me whenever!” He said, “For moral support, or whatever you need! Call me and tell me how it goes!” Hinata raced out to his own class, flashing a peace sign in the doorway before vanishing out of sight. Yachi sighed. These boys were going to kill her one day.</p><p>*****<br/>     Yachi felt like her lungs were about to collapse. She was about to ask her dear friend a very personal question about something she had no right knowing. Oh my god, what if she came off rude? Or pushy? She'll never be able to show her face again! She felt her feet weighed a million pounds as she trudged towards Yamaguchi’s classroom. Lunch break had just begun, and she felt like she should get it over with sooner, rather than later. Her eyes were so focused on the ground, she nearly fell over when she bumped into the figure leaving the classroom.<br/>     “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” She vehemently apologized, a little too loud. She looked and was met with kind eyes and familiar freckles.<br/>     “Hitoka, I’m sorry!” Tadashi said, lunch in hand, “What are you doing here?”<br/>     “T-tadashi!” she greeted, though it sounded more like a whimper. “I came to see you!”<br/>     Yamaguchi smiled and blushed a little. “Oh, that’s super nice of you, but I was just about to head to 1-4 to eat lunch with Tsukki. Wanna come with?”<br/>     “Um, sure.” Yachi agreed, turning to walk with her friend. “Uh, about… Tsukishima…” she tried to start, but faltered. Yamaguchi looked concerned.<br/>     “Did he say something rude to you?”<br/>     “No!- I was just…” her voice dropped to a whisper, “Iwaswonderingwhatheistoyou!” Yachi rushed, wincing, eyes closed and ready for outrage. Instead she heard a small chuckle. Yamaguchi stopped walking to turn to her.<br/>     “What do you mean?” Tadashi was smiling, much to Hitoka’s relief. Ok, ok, she hasn’t messed this up yet.<br/>     “Like… what… exactly… is his relationship… to you?” she said carefully. “Sorry if I’m being rude!”<br/>     “Tsukki? He’s my boyfriend.” he laughed.<br/>     <em>That was so blunt!</em> Yachi thought. Inwardly she was overjoyed that he could tell her something so personal! She had alway had trouble making friends, but he obviously trusted her enough to tell her he was dating Tsukishima!<br/>     “O-oh.” was all she could muster as they continued to walk in silence for a few steps.<br/>     “Why?” Tadashi asked suddenly, after further contemplation.<br/>     “Well, Shoyo saw you two kiss in the team room the other day and he’s kind of freaking out about it.”<br/>     “Oh, he saw... that" He laughed awkwardly, "Wait, why is he freaking out?! Is he…” Yamaguchi trailed off, perplexed. He would not have pegged Hinata for homophobia. He was far too happy and kind! Oh man-<br/>     “No! Nothing like that!” Hitoka assured. He let out a sigh of relief. “He’s just worried that he intruded and that he discovered a personal secret. He told Kageyama about it, and was terrified that he was, quote, ‘the worst friend  in the world’ for outing you.” They were turning into Class 1-4 now, and Tsukishima could be seen already sitting in the back of the class.<br/>     “Outed?” Tadashi frowned, “It’s not a secret that we’re dating.” he said.<br/>     “It’s not!?” Yachi squawked, kicking herself for the pride she had felt earlier.<br/>     “No! Do people not know we’re together?!” he nearly shouted in shock.<br/>     “No way!”she yelled back. Kei took off his headphones as they approached his desk.<br/>     “You’re late, Tadashi.”<br/>     “Sorry, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi said, sitting down and unpacking his lunch. Yachi stood awkwardly next to him.<br/>     “What’s all this yelling about, then?” Tsukishima drawled. “And what are you doing here?” he said to Hitoka. There was no ill-intent in his words, but his flat tone made it sound like an accusation. She began to splutter and panic, but Tadashi saved her.<br/>     “Hey, did you know people don’t know that we’re dating?”<br/>     “Hm? I felt like we were obvious.” Yamaguchi nodded in agreement.<br/>     “Me too! Apparently Hitoka didn’t know! Neither did Shoyo or Kageyama!” Yachi shook her head in confirmation.<br/>     “Well, I told you the first day we met them, Yamaguchi; they’re idiots.”<br/>     Tadashi laughed at Tsukishima’s comment and looked back to Yachi. “Does anyone else not know?”<br/>     “I don’t think anyone does.” she said thoughtfully.<br/>     “Weird!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, “It’s not like it was a secret. I mean, it’s not like we were advertising or anything, but still! I thought you guys noticed.” Kei hummed in agreement.<br/>      “You’re not exactly the most affectionate pair, you know!” Yachi said defensively, though now that she thought about it, Tsukishima and Tadashi did seem to care about each other an awful lot. The latter was always loud and open with his praise, and even the former extended him encouragement that no one else got.<br/>     “Hm… maybe you’re right.” Yamaguchi pondered, “We’re not exactly big on PDA. We just like our privacy, I guess.” He looked over at Kei, who held his eyes for a moment, before narrowing in on Hitoka.<br/>     “So how did you figure it out then?”<br/>     “Oh! Me? I didn’t! Shoyo said he saw you two yesterday in the team room. After practice.” She explained clumsily. Tsukishima scowled at Yamaguchi, who laughed and put his chin on his arms, which were folded on the table to look up at Kei.<br/>     “What?” he cooed teasingly, “Do I really have to justify kissing my boyfriend?” Tsukishima flushed, and kicked him under the table.<br/>     “Shut up, Yamaguchi!” he said in a hushed tone, glancing at Hitoka as Tadashi snickered. Yachi giggled, and both of their attention was brought back to her.<br/>     “So, I um, can tell them, then?” she asked.<br/>     “Tell whoever you want,” Tsukishima bristled, “I don’t particularly care.” He looked back at Tadashi, who was smiling at Hitoka, with a fondness that probably would have been indecipherable had she not been friends with him.<br/>     “Alright! I’ll just tell Hinata and Kageyama, then. But Shoyo probably will tell the whole rest of the team.” she fretted.<br/>     “It really is fine, Hitoka.” Yamaguchi assured her. “Them knowing doesn’t change anything, or at least, it shouldn’t. It’s okay.”<br/>     “Right! I have time to go tell them now! Um, sorry for bothering you! Have a nice lunch!” Tadashi waived off her apology and Kei nodded his goodbye.<br/>     “See you later, Hitoka!”<br/>     “Wow,” Tsukishima said when she was gone, leaning in so his leg was pressed even closer against Yamaguchi’s, “They really are all neanderthals.” Yamaguchi snickered again.</p><p>     “Hinata!!” Yachi shouted into his across the lawns in front of the second gym. She had taken a gamble that she’d find him outside, and sure enough, he was there, passing with Kageyama.<br/>     “Yachiii!” he called back with a nervous grin, rushing towards her. They gathered a few dirty looks for the noise, but Hinata was too nervous to really care.<br/>     “What did he say? Is he angry? Ah man, Tsukishima’s gonna kill me, isn't he? I’ll have to leave the country!”<br/>     “Calm down, Shoyo!” Yachi laughed, “You’re starting to sound like me.” She waited for him to take a deep breath. “Tadashi isn’t angry.”<br/>     “Yamaguchi?” Kageyama said, joining the conversation, “Why would he be angry?”<br/>     “Well,” she continued, “I told him that you saw him last night-”<br/>     “<em>You</em> told him!” Kageyama interrupted, before turning to Hinata, “Hinata, you moron, you didn’t even have the balls to go say it to him yourself!? You made Yachi do it? What is wrong with you?!” He hit the back of his head for emphasis, which got him a shove in the side in retaliation.<br/>     “Wait, guys!” Hitoka interjected before the fight could escalate, “It’s fine! When I asked, Tadashi just told me that they were boyfriends! He said it wasn’t a secret!”<br/>     “It’s not?” Hinata said, dumbfounded.<br/>     “That’s what I said! He just said they really hate PDA! Tsukishima even agreed!”<br/>     “You talked to Tsukishima too?” Kageyama marveled.<br/>     “Man, Yachi, you sure are brave!” Hinata added. She flushed and shook her head.<br/>     “Um, not really. He wasn’t really that bad about it. But he said that you can tell whoever you want! You’re not an awful person, Shoyo, so don’t worry about it.” He fell to the ground on his back in relief.<br/>     “Oh, thank god.” he sighed.<br/>     “Dramatic ass” Kageyama muttered.</p><hr/><p>     “So,” Hinata started, nudging Tadashi. The first years had diverged paths with the rest of the team, on their way home from practice, and he really felt like he had to say something. “How long have you two been dating?” Kageyama choked, shocked at the boldness of Hinata’s question.<br/>     “Good lord.” Tsukishima groaned, his head falling back while he fought the sudden desire to put his headphones on and tune out this dreaded line of conversation.<br/>     “Tsukki and I have been dating since the last year of junior high.” Yamaguchi smiled, looking to his boyfriend for confirmation. He nodded stiffly, looking at the ground. Yamaguchi tilted his head fondly, and bumped their shoulders.<br/>     “Man, he does not like talking about this stuff, huh. I’m sorry, it must be rough.”<br/>     "It’s just awkward, okay?” Tsukishima snapped, not liking the implications of his tone, “I’m not scared or anything like that. There’s just a time and a place, and it is not at school or at practice!”<br/>     “I-” Hinata stalled, “I’m sorry.” He didn’t bother saying he didn’t mean it like that, because it simply wouldn’t be true.<br/>     “Yeah! He holds my hand on dates and stuff like that!” Yamaguchi tried to assist.<br/>     “You go on dates?” Shoyo asked in awe.<br/>     “I’m sorry, what did you think dating someone meant?” Kei mocked.<br/>     “Well it's hard to imagine you on date, is all!”<br/>     “Pfft, I think picturing you in a romantic setting would legitimately make me throw up.” Kageyama chimed in unhelpfully.<br/>     “Great, please don’t do it and we’ll both be happy.” he grumbled, finally putting his headphones on. Tadashi frowned, but didn’t make him take them off. They were about to split off from the other two anyway.<br/>     “Sorry, Shoyo, this is just super private for him.” Tadashi said quietly. “I’ll see you guys on Monday!”<br/>     “Bye, Yamaguchi.”<br/>     “See ya!”<br/>     Yamaguchi sighed and looked at his boyfriend. He bumped him again.<br/>     “They’re gone, you know.” His remark was met with silence. He waited a while before trying again. “He was just being nice, Kei.” Again, nothing. “I know you can hear me!” Tsukishima pulled out his iPod and pointedly turned the volume up until Tadashi could hear it from where he was standing. “Oh,” he laughed, “You’re mad at me, now! May I ask, what for?” Yamaguchi huffed when he was ignored again, and walked in silence before he had to split off too. They both stopped, and Tsukishima took off his headphones.<br/>     “Kei,” Tadashi started in his firm voice, the one that Tsukishima knew not to mess with, “I’d really like to come over tonight. There’s no school tomorrow. But I won’t if you’re angry at me and won’t talk to me, so what is going on? Or should I just go home?” Tsukishima sighed<br/>     “I’m not mad at you, Tadashi.” he said. There was a long pause, but he held out his hand. “I promise. I…I want you to come over too. Okay?” Yamaguchi smiled and took the warm hand in his. He leaned into Tsukki and scolded himself for falling for someone so grouchy. But perfect. Tsukishima was definitely perfect for him.</p><hr/><p>     Yamaguchi had considered Tsukishima’s house an extension of his own for years. He’s spent countless nights here, eaten so many of their family dinners that he fit into their domestic dynamic easily. They were taking their shoes off when Tsukki’s mother called from the kitchen.<br/>     “Kei, is that you?”<br/>     “Yes,” he said plainly, “Yamaguchi is here too.” he added before she might say something too personal or weird. Upon further contemplation, it really was useless. His mother tended to overshare, and Yamaguchi already knew plenty of intimate details about his family life.<br/>     “Tadashi, it’s been a while!” she cried when they walked into the kitchen. She turned to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.<br/>     “A week.” Kei corrected, inching towards his room.<br/>     “Are you staying long? Spending the night?” she ignored her son.<br/>     “Um, if it’s not too much trouble for you.” Yamaguchi said sheepishly. Even though he felt completely comfortable here, he was always awkward about asking to spend the night. This was, of course, a completely unfounded anxiety, as the Tsukishima family had never once turned him away.<br/>     “You’ll need dinner then!” she prompted, seeming to have just finished making it.<br/>     “I’m not hungry.” Kei said boredly.<br/>     “Er, I’m not really hungry either. Thank you so much, though.”<br/>     “Nonsense! Boys, sit down.” The emphasis on the command was subtle, but airtight. Tsukki rolled his eyes, but sat down without further complaint.<br/>     “Akiteru ate so much when he was in high school,” Ms. Tsukishima continued mindlessly as she dished up their food, “I made him three lunches a day! And you boys work so hard in that volleyball club, you should have a nice meal to come home to.”<br/>     “Thank you, Ms. Tsukishima,” Yamaguchi said, taking a bite, “This is great.” While he was digging in, Tsukki poked at his food.<br/>     “Kei, eat.” his mother pushed.<br/>     “But what about my modeling career?” he deadpanned, “I gotta watch my figure.”<br/>Yamaguchi snorted and Ms. Tsukishima ruffled her son's hair, despite his avid attempts to dodge it.<br/>     “You’re plenty scrawny,” she said, tapping Tadashi on the shoulder too, “The both of you.” she washed up the used dishes and disappeared down the hall, asking them to clean up after themselves when they were done. Tadashi managed to make Tsukishima choke down half of the meal, which he considered a success, and they finally went to Kei’s room.<br/>Tadashi didn’t bother asking for overnight clothes, he just opened Tsukki’s closet and took a t-shirt for himself. He had about three that he wore in rotation that Tsukishima was No Longer Allowed To Wear. He threw his uniform in a pile in the corner and lay on the bed, just wearing boxers and “his” shirt. He smiled a little when Tsukishima sighed, picking up at folding the clothes, grumbling about someone being “useless”.<br/>     “Kei, let's watch a movie,” he whined, worming his way under the covers.<br/>     “Don’t you have homework?” he said in response, taking off his uniform too, but in a much more organized way, putting it into a bin to wash the next day.<br/>     “We can do that tomorrow.” Yamaguchi promised, propping his head up on his hand to look at Tsukki, “Oh, and can you put mine in there too? I don’t know if I’ll have time tomorrow.” Tsukishima huffed, and glared at his boyfriend.<br/>     “You literally just watched me fold these.” he griped, tossing them in the bin anyhow.<br/>     “Sorry,” Tadashi said, nose crinkling up, “You look cute when you fold my clothes.”<br/>     “Shut up.” Kei muttered with a smile, shoving Tadashi’s head with his fingers so it fell off of its balance.<br/>     “Hey, what were you so annoyed about, anyway? Earlier, I mean” Tadashi added once Kei shot him a sideways glare. “Do you not want to be out or something?”<br/>Tsukishima made a sound that sounded a bit like a growl. “It’s not that I don’t like being out, Tadashi, I just, I don’t like people prying into our relationship. It just feels weird to me. ”<br/>     “What, can’t have people knowing you’re not always an asshole?” he teased.<br/>     “Exactly. I’ll have you know that I have a reputation to uphold,” Kei said with a smile on his lips, “I can’t have people thinking I’m nice enough to befriend, that would be so annoying.” Tadashi hummed, satisfied with his answer.<br/>Kei flipped the lightswitch off and grabbed his laptop before slipping into bed next to Yamaguchi. He was mostly sitting up, but Tadashi moved in closer, and wrapped his arms around his waist, head resting just below Tsukishima’s chest. Kei put an arm around him, using him as an armrest while he scrolled through the bounty that Netflix had to offer. About five minutes in, he switched to scroll with his other hand, instead using the first one to run his fingers along Tadashi’s hairline, absentmindedly dipping his fingers in and out. It made Yamaguchi’s stomach flip and eyes flutter closed. He was hardly focused on picking a movie anymore. They were more than fifteen minutes into their search when Tsukishima threw his scrolling hand into the air in exasperation.<br/>     “That’s it! We’ve watched every single Netflix show worth seeing. There’s nothing left.” he groaned. Yamaguchi reached out to try his own hand at it, as if something would magically appear. When it didn’t, he sighed too.<br/>     “It’s fine, I guess. I’m tired anyway. We can just sleep.”<br/>     “That’s lame.” Tsukishima said, but he shut the laptop anyway, putting it aside, and sliding down to face Tadashi. “But yeah, those idiots sure did tire me out.”<br/>     “Right?” Tadashi laughed, blinking slowly, “I thought it was exhausting enough to watch Hinata bouncing off the walls; turns out it’s more exhausting to watch him try to contain it.” Tsukki snickered, and Yamaguchi’s heart skipped a beat. Hinata had tried far too hard to keep in this non-secret. He kept it so “cool” that Daichi had to take him aside and ask him if he was feeling alright. It’s not that he was calm, or still, or anything, he just directed his usual rowdy energy inward. He also had several cringe-worthy freudian slips that raised eyebrows, but without context they were dropped pretty quickly.<br/>     “He just made everyone suspicious with how he was acting.”<br/>     Tsukishima smiled as Yamaguchi leaned forward to bring their lips together. When Tadashi pulled back, it hardly mattered, because he had already scooted so close. Kei uncurled his arm from between him and placed it on Tadashi’s face, cupping his jaw, under his ear. He just looked at him, losing track of time as he studied the freckles across his nose, or his eyebrows, or how his eyes reflected what little light there was in the room beautifully. Tsukishima stared so long, his eyes adjusted to the dark and he could see just how dilated his eyes were. He turned away suddenly to put his glasses on the nightstand but when he replaced his hand, Tadashi’s covered it. He brought Kei’s hand to his lips and kissed his fingers, making his stomach churn in the best way possible. It made him exhale with need, and he rushed forward, moving his hand in between Yamaguchi’s shoulder blades, pushing them closer together as he kissed him again. His other hand was wedged between Yamaguchi’s face and the pillow, his thumb circling up and down his cheekbone. The kiss wasn’t exceptionally deep, and they both were tired, but it was intoxicating and left both of their heads spinning.<br/>     Tadashi smiled, breathing against Kei’s lips, his fingers twirling lazily in his hair. Yamaguchi turned Kei onto his back, straddling his torso and squishing his face lightly between his hands before letting go. Kei grunted as his boyfriend settled himself, laying on top of him, moving his hands to sit on Tadashi’s ribs. He turned his face to look down at the head resting on his shoulder. When their lips met again, it was sleepy and inconsistent, but they were never apart for long. Tsukishima brought his arms tighter around Yamaguchi.<br/>     “Are you really going to sleep like this?” he sighed. Yamaguchi murmured his affirmation, kissing up Tsukki’s jaw to his ear, snuggling farther into him.<br/>     “Kiss me again,” he complained, and Tsukishima turned to face him as best he could with a smirk, not obliging the request. Yamaguchi frowned, leaning forward and kissing Kei’s curled lips anyway. When that still didn’t work he huffed and nestled into Kei’s shoulder, his breath tickling his neck.<br/>      “Fine,” he said, “See if I kiss you in the morning.” Tsukishima’s chest shook with quiet laughter.<br/>      “And miss out on the morning breath? Oh no.” he quipped. He kissed the side of Yamaguchi’s head, right next to his ear and squeezed, rubbing his back. “I love you, Tadashi.” he breathed. He felt Tadashi relax at his words as they settled in. He kissed the nearest surface, which was Kei’s neck, chastely.<br/>      “I love you too.” he murmured.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I forgot to upload last month because i was certain that i did. sorry.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tsukishima and Yamaguchi go on a date during spring break and unknowingly leave a witness.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>     Winter break was an incredibly welcome relief for Tsukishima Kei. Sure, he could begrudgingly admit he might sort of want to do marginally well at nationals; at least not lose their first match, anyway. But all the constant practice and nagging from his teammates was really starting to get on his nerves. They still practiced, of course, they couldn’t just not do any training leading up to the Spring tourney, it just wasn’t so intensive. A little calm before the storm and the training camps and the running drills and ugh. It couldn’t last long enough. He could also concede that the extra free time he spent with his boyfriend was also nice, but he didn’t tell Tadashi that; if he told him he would just be insufferable. He grabbed his coat when he heard the doorbell ring and headed downstairs.<br/>      “Hey,” Yamaguchi said and Kei leaned down to give him a kiss as a greeting, “Ready to go?”<br/>      Kei nodded and raised an eyebrow when the other boy’s hand slipped into his. He had long since given up trying to hold Tadashi’s hand. Every single time he did, he would run off to take a picture of a cool tree or to follow an animal. It honestly got pretty annoying constantly letting go of his hand and grabbing it again, so he just stopped and it became a habit. Tadahsi still tries, though, everytime he remembers, but he’s never succeeded in remembering to hold on. Kei gripped it tighter, the warmth of Tadashi’s hand muffled through his gloves, but still there. Yamaguchi must have felt the skepticism because he huffed and grabbed Kei’s forearm with his other hand.<br/>      “Ooh,” he said a few minutes later, absentmindedly taking his phone out of his pocket.<br/>      The blonde chuckled in victory as his boyfriend pointed the camera up and the canopy of a tree in the park they were taking a shortcut through. It was pretty, the branches iced over in clear drops with the sun peeking through the snow that had settled on top of some of them. The rest of the walk to the bus stop, Tsukishima’s hands were shoved into his pockets as he listened to Yamaguchi tell him about how pretty the New Year’s shrine was and how Kei should’ve come along. He shook his head. Yamaguchi knew how much he hated the cold but got his hopes up expecting Kei to go anyway. They didn’t have to wait long before the bus arrived and Tsukkishima took his hand out of his pocket for him to hold again before Tadashi could even ask him too. An old man sitting across from them gave them a look that they were both well accustomed to at this point in their relationship, but they didn’t pay it any mind.<br/>      The ice rink was packed with people and it was difficult to even find a locker to put their stuff in or a seat where they could put on the skates. Tadashi chatted with the clerk as he got Kei’s skates. Tadashi had brought his own from home: he went to that rink all the time with his parents. Kei looked down at the skates in his hands when they sat down on one of the benches, unimpressed.<br/>     “Gross,” he said, “how many people do you think have worn these?” Tadashi shrugged.<br/>     “I don’t know, but this place is usually pretty busy. Eighty?” he guessed. Tsukishima shook his head but stuck his foot in anyway. “They clean them.” Yamaguchi grinned as his boyfriend shot him a glare. When Kei stood up, he put a hand on the other’s shoulder for balance. The shoes wobbled but he was able to move on his own pretty quickly.<br/>     “I’m going to break my ankle,” he complained, rolling it for the fifth time on the way to the entrance to the rink. His leg shook when he stepped on the ice, gripping the wall tightly. The concentration he was expending on staying upright must have been clear on his face because Tadashi began to laugh.<br/>     “You look like a baby giraffe.” he snorted. Kei glared and tried to stand up straighter, but his skate caught on an indent in the ice and hunched over again to maintain his balance. “I thought you said you’ve done this before?’ Yamaguchi said, gliding up ahead, but not straying too far.<br/>     “Yeah, when I was seven.” he Tsukishima gritted out, “I’ve gotten a little out of practice since then.” He glanced at his boyfriend’s skates, trying to imitate the effortless movement of his feet, but his blades simply refused to move correctly.<br/>     “Move away from the wall.” Tadashi advised.<br/>     “Ha. I’m fine, thanks.”<br/>     “All the smooth ice is out here!” he spun in a circle for emphasis, “You’ll keep getting caught on all the grooves by the wall.”<br/>Kei sighed and gently pushed himself away from the wall. He was moving embarrassingly slow, and kept on stumbling over his own feet. He never looked up from his skates and kept one hand out towards the wall in case he tripped, which, sure enough, happened. He managed to catch himself before he hit the ice, but his hand was firmly placed upon the wall again.<br/>     “Better!” Yamaguchi said, “here, take my hands.” He offered them out, swinging around so that he was in front of Kei, facing him. He raised his eyebrows at the proposal, not taking them. “Look, do we have to get you one of those seals” he teased, gesturing to some elementary schoolers who skated through the center of the rink, leaning forward onto plastic support seals. “I could push you around.”<br/>     The blond huffed and grabbed Tadashi’s hands, who smiled one of the sweetest smiles he’d seen in a while. Luckily he had an excuse to look away and down at his shoes when Tadashi started to skate backwards. He skated slowly, gradually drifting away from the wall as Kei focused on not tripping the both of them with his clumsy feet. They slid faster, little by little, until they were actually moving at what Tsukishima considered to be a socially acceptable pace. When his posture nearly straightened out, he was snapped back to reality with another request.<br/>     “Ok, now look up at me. Try not to look at the ice.”<br/>    He had been glancing up from his skates occasionally, of course, to make sure that Yamaguchi wasn’t going run into anyone, but the idea of not looking down at all was a little terrifying. He knew that eventually he was going to be falling, but he really was not looking forward to the experience. He was a tall guy, it's a long way to go. But, everyone else there was managing to do it just fine, there’s no logical reason he couldn’t as well. And there was no use looking like a coward by trying to avoid the inevitable. His hands squeezed Yamaguchi’s wrists tighter and he looked up, straight into his eyes. There was some sort of pride sparkling there that annoyed Kei to all hell, but he couldn’t turn his gaze away for a second.<br/>     “Ok, how about trying to let go now?’ Tadashi smiled.<br/>Kei sighed, and pressed down on his arms a little harder. He was so stable, and he could feel him pushing back into his hands in turn. In all honesty, letting go seemed like so much more work than what it was worth when they could just do this, but he nodded, releasing the pressure, immediately shaking again as he lurched forward for balance as Tadashi moved to his side. He shot his hand out for Kei to grab for support, which he did, but while they slowed somewhat, they kept a good pace. When he finally let go again, he was actually able to move on his own, though not nearly as well as his boyfriend. His legs were too far apart and though he might have imagined it, when some kid whizzed past him, Kei could nearly feel her skate on his and the movement threw him off. He bent a little too much forward and fell. He managed to turn so he fell on his bicep and not his face, but the ice stung like a bitch<br/>     “Hey! Your first fall! Congratulations! Are you okay?” Yamaguchi helped Tsukishima up and steadied him.<br/>     “Shut up,” Kei grumbled and Yamaguchi laughed. “Don’t laugh at me.”<br/>     “I would never.” But he could tell by his boyfriend’s face that he was still embarrassed. “Next time I’ll fall with you, okay?”<br/>     Kei rolled his eyes and focused on getting to where he was again. Falling wasn't so bad after all, and with that out of the way, he should at least have been able to get to the speed he was going with Yamaguchi, right? He moved a little more confidently as he picked up his speed, stumbling every now and then, but not following again.<br/>     “You’re doing so good Tsukki, jeez.” Tadashi said.<br/>     “Don’t sound so surprised.”<br/>     “No, you just got it so quickly.” He sounded genuinely impressed.<br/>     “Alright so how do I stop?’<br/>Yamaguchi glided on ahead and demonstrated a simple T-stop, dragging one of his skates behind him, the friction slowing him to a halt. He fell into step with Tsukishima.<br/>     “Now you try it.”<br/>He hesitantly drew his right foot back to drag, but as soon as he transferred more weight to the back foot, he knew he did it too early and put his weight on his heel. The skate caught a tread in the ice and the leg shot into the air, his other leg getting pulled up too as his arms flailed in a fantastic fall. That one hurt a lot more than the first one as his tailbone slammed against the ice. He didn’t even notice Yamaguchi laughing at first.<br/>     “Your-” Tadashi panted through his giggles, “your limbs were EVERYWHERE HAHA-” Despite his words, he reached out to help Tsukishima up, who immediately took the hand to yank his boyfriend down with him.<br/>     “You said you’d fall with me.” Kei shrugged at the other’s bewilderment. He laughed again, and shoved him.<br/>     “Yeah, I did. Are you hurt, though? It looked pretty bad. Like, cartoon ba-”<br/>     “I’m fine, Tadashi. Now help me up.” he said, gripping his hand.</p><hr/><p>      They managed to make it a few more times around the rink hand-in-hand before Kei completely wore out. Yamaguchi was surprised he lasted as long as he did so when he told him he was going to sit down, he just squeezed his fingers and told him he’d meet him after he did a couple laps. Once Tsukishima took off those god-awful skates, he looked up to find Tadashi. He was going as fast as he could, weaving through other people and wobbling every once in a while, which made Kei smile. He looked much more graceful when he was moving slowly, but while the sprint was messy it was shockingly quick. When he noticed him waiting, Yamaguchi lurched to a stop, almost tripping over the hockey stop. Despite the clumsiness of it, Kei still thought it looked kind of cool, with the way the ice sprayed away from the blades.<br/>     “Nice stop.” he said, offering his arm for Tadashi to grab when he stepped out of the rink.<br/>     “So, how do you feel? Did you like it?” Yamaguchi asked, breathless. His hairline was just sweaty enough that it made his forehead shiny.<br/>     “My feet hurt like hell. Ankles too.”<br/>     “That’s because you’ve got weak ankles, Tsukki.”<br/>     “You’re right. I think I’ll just have to cut them off at this point.” he said, circling his foot, wincing a little at the soreness.<br/>     “You’re right. Don’t worry, I’ll push your wheelchair. Your blocking is going to suck, though. Maybe you can be another manager instead.”<br/>     “I see,” Kei laughed, “this was all just an elaborate plan to take my starter spot.” Yamaguchi shrugged, swinging their hands between them.<br/>     “One that worked perfectly, I might add.”</p><hr/><p>     “Bruh, they were what!?”<br/>     “Yeah, holding hands,” Nishinoya said, sounding surprisingly thoughtful, “I thought it was kinda weird too.”<br/>     “I mean, there’s, like, no fucking way that they’re… together, though, right? I can’t think of any reason why someone would like an asshole like Tsukishima.” Tanaka reasoned. Nishinoya laughed.<br/>     “I don’t know, man. We kind of do stuff like that too, though. They can just be homies, it doesn’t mean they’re dating.” he knelt to take off his shoes at the entrance of the gym.<br/>     “We don’t hold hands, Noya! Are you sure it was them?”<br/>     “Of course I’m sure!” he said, jumping up in his gym shoes.<br/>     “And Tsukishima was… actually smiling?” Nishinoya nodded. “I didn’t think the son of a bitch could do it.” Tanaka shook his head, almost proud.<br/>     “Who could do what?” Suga asked. He had been setting up with Daichi, who got sidetracked with scolding Hinata and Kageyama for starting to practice without properly warming up.<br/>     “Noya saw Yamaguchi and Tsukishima holding hands at the skate rink over break.”<br/>     “Oooo really? Are they dating?” The trio moved away from the doorway as the rest of the second years arrived.<br/>     “I’m not sure, I lost them before I could go say hi.” Yuu pouted.<br/>     “Daichi!” Sugawara called, beckoning him over the small group that was forming. “Looks like you might owe me 2,000 yen.”<br/>     “Oh? Did Eminem die?”<br/>     “What? No, shut up, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are dating!”<br/>     “Dating?” Asahi said, tying his hair back as he joined his friends. “Are we sure, or is this just gossip? I’d hate to do that about my own teammates…”<br/>     “Asahi’s right, we shouldn’t speculate, it’s rude. I mean, are you positive? Did they tell you?”<br/>     “Noya just saw them holding hands.” Ennoshita clarified, “So really we don’t know.” Narita nodded in agreement. “We should probably just leave this be.”<br/>     “Well,” Kinoshita added, “During games basically all Yamaguchi talks about is Tsukishima’s plays. It kinda makes sense.” They all turn their heads as they hear the impact of a ball hitting the ground on the court.<br/>     “Hinata! Kageyama! What did I just tell you two about practicing without warming up!?” Daichi barked at the pair, who sheepishly apologized and walked over to the group. “But even though they were doing that,-”<br/>     “Who was doing what?” Hinata whispered to Tanaka as Sawamura continued to lecture.<br/>     “Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were holding hands.” he whispered back.<br/>     “That's it?”<br/>     “-It’s not fair of us to assume they’re dating.” Daichi finished, Kageyama let out a dry laugh. “What?” he said, a little annoyed that his serious speech had been brushed off like that by a first year.<br/>     “Oh,” Hinata boasted, incredibly smug considering he didn’t know until a month or so prior, “You guys didn’t know?” Kageyama narrowed his eyes, punching Shoyo in the ribs.<br/>     “Shut up. Hinata, it’s not like you had any idea before you saw them kiss in the team room!”<br/>     “You saw them WHAT!?” Tanaka yelled.<br/>     “What’s all the yelling about?” Shimizu asked, bending over by the doorway to take her shoes off, a hand on Yachi’s arm for support.<br/>     “Kiyoko!” Nishinoya and Tanaka shouted in unison, “We apologize for the noise. Forgive us.” She shot a look at Daichi for a real explanation, but Suga jumped in.<br/>     “Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are dating.” He wrapped an arm around Sawamura’s shoulders, “Ah, Tsukishima’s really come out of his shell, hasn’t he?”<br/>     “Stop acting like this is your doing.” Daichi huffed.<br/>     “Wait, you two don’t look surprised at all.” Kinoshita pointed out.<br/>     “It sort of makes sense,” Kiyoko said with a shrug, “It’s not really my business either way.”<br/>     “And I already knew,” Yachi added.<br/>     “How’d you know?” Tanaka asked, “Jeez, was this some sort of first year secret?” Yachi laughed nervously and shook her head.<br/>     “It’s not a secret.”<br/>     “Wait, what?” Daichi interjected. “It’s not?” Sugawara patted his shoulder, a small comfort after he put all that effort into protecting the privacy of his underclassmen.<br/>     “Hitokaaaaa I was gonna tell them.” Hinata whined and Kageyama smacked him again. “You should stop hitting me!” He smacked him back, “Ever think of using your words? You should try it sometimes!” Kageyama showed him a few choice words and they were so enraptured in their bickering that they did not notice when the rest of the team fell completely silent.<br/>     “What’s going on, guys?” Tadashi asked, “Are we late?” He leaned in farther to check the clock inside the gym. He looked at Kei, questioning. Tsukishima took one look at the team’s faces and narrowed his eyes at Hinata.<br/>     “Well, I guess Shorty finally broke.” he said, rolling his eyes.<br/>     “I didn’t say anything!” Hinata yelled from where he was stretching by the net. He and Kageyama had mustered up a collective braincell that told them Daichi wouldn’t yell at them for practicing if they actually warmed up. Tsukishima took a step forward.<br/>     “Is this going to be a problem with any of you, because I really don’t feel like dealing with idiots right now.” he sighed<br/>     “Nope, right boys?” Sawamura said awkwardly, clapping his hands and trying to rally the team together. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to work very well as most of the team was still stuck in the terrible stare that felt like getting caught.<br/>     “Right…” They all agreed, though it was off-kilter and not in unison.<br/>     “Right.” Tsukishima said, doubtfully.<br/>     “Okay, well,” Tadashi finished tying his laces, and needed to diffuse the tension. Kei was clearly on edge and he needed some way to break the uncomfortable silence around them. “Do you guys have any, like… questions?”    Kei raised an eyebrow and shot him a look, but Yamaguchi just hit him back with his best ‘Be civil’ glare and silenced any protest.<br/>     “Was it really not a secret?” Suga asked, still surprised over the claim.<br/>     “Nope. Not for about a year, I think.”<br/>     “A year?” Kinoshita said, “How long have you been together?”<br/>     “Two years in April.” Tsukishima looked at Tadashi for confirmation he didn’t need. It wasn’t like he didn’t know their anniversary, but his nod was comforting all the same.<br/>     “I have a question for Yamaguchi,” Tanaka said, raising his hand like he was in class, “Why?”<br/>     “What’s that supposed to mean?” Kei demanded as his boyfriend snickered.<br/>     “Well you’re not exactly the most likable person, I just don’t get it.”<br/>     “Tanaka!” Daichi scolded, but he was biting his lip, a piece of decorum that Suga neglected.<br/>     “I don’t know Tanaka, at least I’m in a relationship. It’s more than I can say for you.” Tsukishima taunted.<br/>     “You little punk!” Tanaka began to stomp towards the smirking first year, “I’ll show you, that is no way to talk to yo-” Ennoshita interrupted, grabbing the back of his jacket to hold him back.<br/>     “It was a rude question, we’ll call it even.” The scuffle was enough to relax everyone’s nerves.<br/>     “Congratulations to you two. I’m going to finish setting up.” Shimizu said with a nod toward the couple before heading to the supply room.<br/>     “Oh yeah, congratulations.” Asahi echoed, along with Narita.<br/>     “Uh, well, it’s not like it’s a new thing, so.” Tsukishima brushed them off. Noya patted the both of them on the shoulder.<br/>     “I’m happy for you guys! I can’t imagine dating a guy though! Girls are way too pretty.” He nodded solemnly. Tadashi laughed.<br/>     “Yeah, girls are pretty, but I think Tsukki is pretty too.” he mused, at his boyfriend whose ears immediately turned red.<br/>     “Okay, question time over!” he spluttered, looking up at the balcony like he was searching for something and not just avoiding eye contact.<br/>     “BAHAHAHA!” Nishinoya shrieked, pointing at Tsukishima’s flushed face.<br/>     “Shut up, Nishinoya!” Noya jumped up to ruffle Tsukishima’s hair, an attempt that he shoved off. Luckily for Kei’s pride, most of the others hadn’t hear what Yamaguchi had said but his stupid little heart still beat in double time and he was so going to make him pay for that later. He glared at him to let him know, but while Tadashi’s eyes looked apologetic, the sly smile on his lips told him he didn’t really mean it.<br/>     “Oi!” Ukai shouted, entering the gym. “Practice started,” he glanced at his watch, “45 seconds ago, why aren’t you boys warming up? I don’t pay you to stand around, start stretching!”<br/>     “You don’t pay us at all, coach.” Kei deadpanned.<br/>     “Give me more sass, Tsukishima, and you’ll be running extra laps. I know how much you love those.” Ukai said, gesturing for him to join the circle of boys forming on the court. Yamaguchi giggled as they headed over together.<br/>     “Shut up, Yamaguchi.”<br/>     “Sorry, Tsukki.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>finally done!!! sorry this chapter was so late, school has been ROUGH, but today is third year tskym day (3/1) so I figured now was the best time to post this!!</p><p>thank you of reading this far, I'm super happy any and all hits, comments, and kudos this received considering it's the first fic I've posted here. </p><p>also an open apology to asanoya shippers for that "I couldn't imagine dating a guy" remark y'all are so valid he was just the best person to say that line!! </p><p>until next time!!</p>
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